


Shadow Kiss (Book One of the Shadow Trilogy)

by Glinja_Nitter



Category: Ghost Adventures RPF
Genre: Demonic Possession, F/M, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 23:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 29,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glinja_Nitter/pseuds/Glinja_Nitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zak Bagans learns from a palm reader that his soul has been eternally damned by the very things he hunts...but there may be one person who can save him. Enter Aerolynn, a quirky, 25 year old GA fan who wins the chance to go on a lockdown with them when they come to her town of Sunfire Falls to investigate. Zak doesn't really believe this girl can save him. Can she prove him wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

********Zak’s P.O.V.********

 

          “Zak, let’s stop here for a sec,” Aaron piped up pointing out the window. I looked over real quick to see what he was referring to. My eyes immediately went back to the road.

          “No. HELL no,” I immediately replied.

          Aaron laughed. “Awh, come on, man! It’ll be fun.”

          I narrowed my eyes at him before concentrating back on the road. My hands gripped the steering wheel. The exit for the place was coming up soon.

          “I have already been to one of those places. I’m not going to another one. Not after what you guys did to me that last time.”

          I was referring to the time we had gone to the Clown Hotel and I, for once, had started getting comfortable around the creepy ass things. I mean seriously? How can something so creepy that is constantly smiling considered to be friendly and lovable? I just don’t get it. If you ask me, those painted on smiles were hiding the fact that they were really psychopaths out to murder little children…and grown men. After we had left the hotel, I had been walking out to the car and was speaking to Nick when I looked over and noticed the creepiest fucking clown (something straight out of Poltergeist) sitting in the driver’s seat. It was smiling at me like it wanted to eat my soul. That shit scared me so bad I fell right out of the fucking car. Nick and Aaron were on my case about it for the next couple weeks. Assholes.

          “But this one isn’t filled with clowns. And it’s not a hotel. It’s just a little shop. AND it has a palm reader,” Aaron stressed.

          “Yeah, c’mon dude, lighten up. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have your future read to you?” Nick chimed in from the backseat.

          The exit was steadily approaching. It was now or never on my part to decide. Feeling their burning gazes on me, I gave in and turned off on the exit to head to the little shop.

          “Haha! I knew you couldn’t resist!” Aaron laughed.

          “I just didn’t want to hear you guys whining about it the rest of the investigation,” I grumbled.

          “You know you wanted to check it out,” Nick said nudging me with his elbow.

          I smiled. “Maybe a bit.” These guys better pray they don’t pull another stupid stunt like the last time. Otherwise I’m locking them inside Bob Mackey’s by themselves for a week.

****************************************************************************************

“Welcome to my little shop of wonders,” the old woman smiled as we entered her shop.

          “More like little shop of horrors,” Nick whispered in my ear. I smiled.

          It was true. This place seemed to be more horrific than full of wonders. Shrunken heads were hanging from the ceiling, random anatomy parts were stored in jars, and skulls were scattered along the few shelves in the tiny store. Although I did see some herbs and spices, but for the most part it was full of stuff I would never think of even wanting to buy.

          “So you do palm reading?” I asked gazing down at her. Her silver hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she was bent over her cane. Her spine was probably curved like that from scoliosis or arthritis. Maybe a bit of both.

          “Indeed I do. Would you like to have your future read to you?”

          I shrugged. What could it hurt? “Sure. If you don’t mind.”

          “Come with me, child,” she coughed. She motioned for me to follow her to the back of the store where she had a small table set up that was covered with a royal purple cloth. Two chairs sat on either side of the small round table.

          “Have a seat,” she said waving toward the chair as she sat down in the one opposite of mine. I glanced up at Nick and Aaron as I sat down. They had their cameras up and already filming what was going on. Figures.

          “You guys don’t really have to record this,” I pressed.

          “Oh, but we do,” Aaron smiled mischievously.

          I nodded and looked back at the woman.

          “Your hand please my boy,” she politely commanded. I placed my larger hand in hers.

          She grabbed my hand in both of hers and began running her fingers along my palm. Her touch was so light, it began to tickle, but I kept my composure lest the guys tape it and air it on television. My gaze slid over to Nick and Aaron. Aaron was behind me recording while Nick was getting up close and personal to what was going on.

          “Interesting. Very interesting,” the woman mumbled.

          “What?”

          “You lead a very strange life. One that has damned your soul.”

          I gaped at the woman in shock. “Excuse me?”

          “The things you hunt…they are not always as good natured as you hope them to be. Many of them are cunning and filled with a vengeance. Many are demons who have cursed your soul by the marks they put on your body. You do have a long life line though, which is good. That means you have many more healthy, albeit rough, years ahead of you,” she explained.

          “Well, we do go to haunted places and hunt down the ghosts. We merely want to prove their existence since there are so many still in doubt even after the proof we show them.”

          “There is a woman,” she abruptly replied.

          “What? Oh no. You must be mistaken. I’m not seeing anyone right now,” I explained.

          “Not now, but there will be. A woman who will be a light in your darkness. She will help you out of your eternal damnation.”

          “I don’t feel as though I need to be led out of the darkness. I’m not surrounded by it in the first place.”

          The woman’s cloudy blue eyes locked with mine. “She will be able to see the things you are too blind to notice. She will save you from the horrors you are bound to face. Find her quickly and do not let her out of your reach once you find her. Because if you do…you will never be saved.”


	2. Chapter 2

          “Alright all you cool kids out there, we have a very special prize for you tonight,” the DJ announced over the radio. I continued washing the dishes ignoring him. He usually said that and every time I would get excited only to hear him announce that the prize was concert tickets to a Bieber concert or winning a free $10 gift card to some local place. I shuddered to think how I had gotten excited over a “grand prize” once only to hear the “prize” was two tickets to Bieber’s concert. I nearly wanted to shoot my brains out.

          “Yeah, I bet you do, Rich,” I mumbled as I scrubbed a plate clean.

          “Whoever can correctly answer this question the fastest...” he paused for dramatic effect. I rolled my eyes.

          “Wins the chance to go on one investigation alongside the famous Ghost Adventures crew!” He announced excitedly over the radio. I nearly dropped the plate on the floor. My eyes flew to the radio.

          “Say what?”

          “The Ghost Adventures crew will be coming to our quaint little town of Sunfire Falls to investigate the old MacMiller house on the hill just outside of town. So hurry and pick up those phones and call in!” Rich explained.

          I gripped the stereo tightly in my soapy hands. “Shut up, Rich, just tell us the question!”

          “Here’s the question: What was Zak Bagans former job before becoming a documentarian for Ghost Adventures? Alright there’s your question folks now hurry up and call in and win a chance to investigate with the famous Ghost Adventures crew!” Rich reminded before switching it over to a commercial.

          I pivoted around and frantically searched for my phone.

          “Come on, come on, come on…..WHERE IS IT?!” I yelled out in frustration. I actually knew the answer to this question and so help me god if I didn’t get this chance to investigate with them…

          I nearly broke down in tears when I was still unable to find my phone. That’s when I came to the sudden realization that it was in my back pocket. I smacked my hand to my forehead and hurriedly took out my phone. I quickly dialed in the radio station’s number, cursing when the phone slipped out of my soapy hands and crashed to the kitchen floor.

          “Damn it!” I growled wiping my hands off onto my pants before picking up the phone.

          “Hello lucky caller! You are the first to phone in! What’s your name?” Rich answered joyfully.

          All I could do was stare out into my small kitchen as Rich’s words sunk in.

          “Um, hello? What’s your name?” Rich repeated.

          “Uh, A-Aerolynn, sir,” I stammered still caught up in the grips of shock.

          “Alright, Aerolynn. I’m gonna put you on hold for a minute while we come back on the air.”

          Then I heard Rich’s voice once again fill my kitchen from the speakers of my stereo.

          “Alright, we have our lucky first caller on the line here. Tell us your name, sweetheart.”

          “Aerolynn.”

          “Alright, Aerloynn, the question was: what was Zak B—”

          “Wedding DJ!” I quickly fired out not even allowing Rich to finish.

          Rich laughed. “Correct! If you come down to the station tomorrow morning around ten, the Ghost Adventures crew will be here to meet you and help prepare you for the investigation! Thanks for calling!” Then the line went dead.

          I hung up the phone and let my arm fall down to my side. Holy crap. I am going to meet Zak Bagans tomorrow. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

          I couldn’t sleep at all that night. I don’t even think I blinked the rest of that day. My friend Bria called to join in on the excitement with me. We gushed over me being able to see Zak’s gorgeous self in person. Then after I got off the phone with her, I called another one of my friends, Natalie. After telling her about my exciting news, she merely hung up the phone. I was used to it though since she did it most of the time anyways when I was acting more abnormal than usual.

          I sighed as I lay in my bed still unable to go to sleep. My eyes slid over to my alarm clock. A quarter after 6.

          “Ugh! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I whined as I rolled over onto my side. “I still have to wait another three and a half hours before meeting him.”

          _What can I do for three and a half hours?_ I wondered to myself. ‘Sleep’, a little voice whispered inside my head.

          “Oh, little voice, if only it were that easy,” I sighed thanking my lucky stars that I lived alone. Otherwise many would find it strange how often I talk to myself.

          I sat up in bed and decided I would take a shower, get dressed, cook myself a delicious breakfast, and maybe shop around town for a little bit.

          And with that, I headed for my bathroom.

****************************************************************************************

          I glanced at my cell phone to check the time. It was five after ten. I was sitting nervously in my car waiting for their van to arrive. I had already talked with Rich, the radio DJ, and now here I was…waiting…impatiently…Where in the fuck were they??

          Finally I saw their black van turn into the parking lot. I snatched up my book from the passenger seat and pretended like I hadn’t been anxiously awaiting their arrival for the past 15 minutes.

          A rap came on my window. I was disappointed to see it was only Rich. I rolled down my window.

          “Yeah?” I asked coolly.

          “The boys are here. Wanna meet them?” he asked. I beat back the urge to slam the car door into Rich’s face in my hurry to go meet them.

          Instead I merely shrugged and put down my book. I hadn’t even read a single sentence. “Sure.”

          I got out of the car and followed Rich up to the front doors of the building where I could see Nick and Aaron…but not Zak. Where was he?

          “Hey, guys, this is Aerolynn. She was our winner from last night that answered the question correctly,” Rich introduced.

          “Cool. Hey, I’m Aaron,” Aaron introduced himself holding out his hand. I shook his hand distractedly.

          “I’m Nick.” I shook his hand as well.

          “Where’s Zak?” Rich read my mind.

          “Bathroom,” Nick answered.

          _Well, he needs to hurry his fine ass up and get out here_ , I thought to myself angrily.

          “Well, I’m gonna head back inside guys. It’s almost time for me to go back on the air.” Rich waved his goodbyes and headed back inside.

          “So…” Aaron awkwardly began. “You’re name is Aerolynn? Pretty cool name.”

          “Uh, yeah, I guess,” I laughed. “You can call me Aero or Lynn. Not many people call me by my full name except my parents.”

          “Alright cool. So I imagine you have some idea of what we do, right?” Nick questioned.

          “Yeah. I’ve seen a few episodes of your show,” I answered nonchalantly. _A few hundred_ , I quietly thought to myself.

          “Great! Well, even though you were supposed to meet us here so early for the investigation…” Aaron began. “It’s actually not until tomorrow night. We just need to take a tour of the place, find out where we need to set up the cameras, and get some of them in place.”

          “You guys don’t do that the night of the investigation?”

          “Depending on how long the tour takes and if the area is a huge hotspot, we normally do wait until the night of the investigation. But we hear this place is pretty big and we will be staying in a couple of the more haunted rooms during the investigation,” Nick explained.

          “Yeah, it is pretty massive. I remember riding my bike passed that house on the way to my grandparent’s house. Always gave me the creeps even though it looked absolutely immaculate on the outside,” I admitted.

          “We’ve read a few stories about it online,” Aaron replied.

          “Most of the stuff online is just a bunch of bullshit,” I scoffed. “Just kids who were too scared to actually stay the night inside the house and decided to make up shit to make it seem scarier to the next person who thought they were brave enough to go inside.”

          “How do you know they are a bunch of bullshit?” A deep voice questioned behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a shiver ran down my spine.

          I turned around and came face to chest with Zak Bagans. Damn…he was taller in person than I thought. Either that or I was short. Then again I was 5’3” to his 6’0”.

          I took a step back so I could actually look up at his face. I gulped. He had such a prominent jawline and straight aristocratic nose. But nothing could beat those penetrating bluish-hazel eyes of his.

          “Well, because my grandparents used to be good friends with the MacMillers. They visited their house every Wednesday and told me that the majority of the stories on the internet were a lie.”

          “Maybe they were lying to you so you wouldn’t get scared,” Zak countered back.

          “Maybe, but my grandparents aren’t exactly known for their kindness or their ability to sugar coat the truth,” I defended. Why was he acting so pushy about it?

          “Well, I guess we’ll see,” he shrugged before brushing passed me to head out to the van.

          I watched him walk away barely able to see his tattoo on the back of his neck poking out from above the collar of his black t-shirt. I turned back to Nick and Aaron.

          They just shrugged and began following Zak out to the van.

          Maybe Zak wasn’t the guy I thought he was.


	4. Chapter 4

 

          The guys decided to stay at the local motel near the outer edge of town a few miles down the road from the MacMiller house. Even though they insisted I could go back to my apartment and stay there until they were ready for tomorrow’s investigation, I told them it was no big deal and I was coming along anyways.

          So we were in the lobby of the motel as Zak paid for two double rooms. He came back and slapped my key into my hand.

          “Since you insist on coming along,” he replied irritably. I narrowed my eyes at him as he walked away. What was his problem?

          Even though I hadn’t really been able to go back to my apartment and pack stuff, I still slid the key into my pocket and followed the guys out the door to their room.

          “So which of you two will be bunk mates?” I chuckled leaning against the doorframe.

          “It’s usually Aaron and me that share a bed,” Nick grunted as he plopped the suitcases down on the bed. I wasn’t sure if they were filled with clothing or equipment. If I had to make a guess, I would probably say a bit of both.

          “Oooh, so Princess gets a bed all to himself?” I teased meeting Zak’s eyes. He paid me no attention.

          “Haha, usually,” Aaron answered.

          “Alright guys, we have this tour at 11:30, so we need to get going,” Zak commanded.

          Nick and Aaron sighed. “Okay. We’ll make sure we have all of our equipment,” Nick said brushing by me to head outside. Aaron tipped his head in my direction and left behind Nick. I stayed leaning against the door watching Zak unpack some of his things.

          “Is there a reason why you are still standing around watching me unpack?” Zak sighed as he met my gaze.

          “You’re different from what I expected,” I blurted out.

          He arched a brow. “Oh? How so?”

          “I thought you would be…nicer. Like you seem to be on television.”

          “Yeah, well, I have to draw in viewers somehow and I can’t just simply rely on my looks.”

          “What’s your deal? You act like you don’t even want to be here,” I snapped. He straightened to his full height, slamming down some of his clothes onto the bed.

          “It’s not that I don’t want to be here. I just don’t want to have to waste my time teaching somebody how to properly use our equipment for ONE night of investigation,” he retorted.

          “I see,” I simply answered glancing down. “Well, if you had bothered to gotten to know more about me, you would have figured out that I already know how to use your equipment since I have done a few ghost hunts myself. But I’m sure you didn’t want to waste your precious time getting to know a person for ONE night, right?”

          I turned on my heel and walked away without giving him the satisfaction of looking back.


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

********Zak’s P.O.V.********

 

          I watched in shock as she walked away. It’s weird. She has been with us for a little over an hour and I still didn’t know her name. Of course, I had never bothered to ask.

          I didn’t mean to act so harsh to her, but I was still reeling from what that palm reader has said a couple of days ago. My soul was damned? And I had to rely on a woman to save me? How in the hell was I supposed to know when I had found her? The woman hadn’t exactly given me any helpful clues.

          I sighed in frustration and sat down on the edge of my bed. I gripped my head between my hands. I didn’t exactly believe in what that woman said, but then again I did. My mind was full of mixed emotions and confused thoughts all swirling around at once. Not only that, but then this girl is added to the mess and I end up unleashing my anger out on her. I lifted my head up to stare at the doorway where she had stomped away from. She did seem to handle my snappish comment kind of well though.

          I shook my head clear of any thoughts and stood up.

          “Hey, Zak?” Nick poked his head into the room.

          “Yeah, Nick?”

          “We’re ready to head out when you are,” he informed me.

          “Thanks. Ah, wait, Nick!” I called out before he could walk too far away from the doorway.

          “Yeah?”

          “Erm…what, uh…what’s that girl’s name?” I inquired softly slightly embarrassed.

          “Um, Aerolynn. She likes to go by Aero or Lynn though. I figured you already knew that?” Nick cocked a dark brow in curiosity.

          “I’ve been busy so I haven’t had the chance to ask for her name,” I replied absentmindedly.

          “You could have asked her when you first met her instead of interrogating her on the authenticity of the place,” Nick suggested.

          I shot him a glare. “Let’s just go, okay?” I snapped.

          Nick smiled. “You got it.”

****************************************************************************************

**~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V.~~~~~~**

 

          “Well that wasn’t too bad of a tour,” Aaron yawned as he stretched his arms high above his head. We had just finished the tour and were now heading back to the van.

          “It seems Aero was right though about those stories on the internet. From what the owner of the house was telling us, none of those kinds of things happened there,” Nick replied smiling over at me.

          I smiled back. It was too bad Nick was married. He was such a cutie.

          “Tomorrow night we can begin setting up the equipment,” Zak chimed in from behind us. I scowled. I had been hoping by meeting them I could get close to Zak and kind of find out more about him, but with the way he has been acting…I’m not sure I want to anymore. I mean, I want to believe he has a legitimate reason to be acting the way he is, but I’m just not sure. Maybe I can ask Nick and Aaron if he is typically like this with guest investigators off-camera.

          “Man, I’m _starving_ ,” Aaron complained wrapping his arms around his stomach.

          Nick laughed. “Alright, we’ll go get something to eat then.”

          “Hey, guys, I need to swing by my apartment and pack up some things before heading back to the hotel. Is it alright if we head there first?”

          “Yeah, sure thing,” Nick agreed opening the car door for me.

          “Thanks,” I smiled in gratitude at him before cutting a glare at Zak. He glared straight back. Even when I was angry with him and he was acting like a complete ass, I still found him incredibly attractive. _Ugh, what is wrong with me?_

          We all piled into the van and headed back to my apartment. I lived on the third (top) floor and was renting one of the two apartments that occupied that floor. It was larger than all the other ones below it, but compared to my last apartment it was a major downsize. It also cost a lot less, too, than the other apartment which as definitely a plus in my book.

          I took my keys out of my Invader Zim purse and opened the door to my apartment.

          “Wow, nice place,” Aaron complimented stepping in after me.

          “Is it expensive?” Nick inquired as he headed for the leather couch in the living room.

          I shrugged. “Not as expensive as my last apartment.”

          Zak was the last to enter. I could tell by the look on his face that he was surprised and impressed, but was too proud to say anything after our little spat at the motel.

          “Make yourselves at home. I’ll only be a few minutes,” I told them.

          They all mumbled something as they discovered I had an X-Box 360 and Playstation 3. I rolled my eyes. Men.

          I walked down the hallway to my bedroom and began packing some of my things into a large suitcase. I was one of those people that damn near packed the entirety of their room into their suitcase afraid I might need “that one thing”, when I really knew I probably didn’t.

          I was just about to head into my closet and pick out some outfits when I heard a light rapping on my door.

          “Come in,” I called out continuing on my way to the closet.

          To my surprise, it was Zak.

          “Oh…hi,” I greeted unsure of what else to say and how to react. I didn’t want to lower myself any further to his level by acting cold towards him, but at the same time I really wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

          “Hey…I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn’t have said that.”

          I was taken aback, but kept a calm appearance. I sifted through my clothes in the closet. “It’s no big deal. It’s not like you hurt my ‘delicate sensibilities’.”

          “Ah, I see.”

          The room had grown so quiet that I assumed he had silently left the room. I was shocked to see him standing by my nightstand with a picture frame in his hand when I turned around with some outfits in hand.

          “Is this your family?” he asked looking up at me. I nearly tripped all over myself when those bluish-hazel eyes met mine. It was the first time I had seen them hold any warmth towards me. I quickly looked away as I felt a light blush pinken my cheeks.

          “Um, yeah. My mom passed away shortly after I was born and then when I was fifteen my dad was killed by a drunk driver. All that was left was me and my brother. He raised me until I was 18. I’ve been on my own ever since,” I quietly explained.

          “Did you go to college?” he asked placing the picture back where I had it.

          I shook my head as I set the clothes down on the bed to be folded into the suitcase. “No, but my brother did and then joined the military after he graduated. It kind of makes me feel bad that he still feels the need to financially support me even though I’m 25 years old,” I sighed.

          “You’re 25?” Zak asked slightly shocked.

          I laughed. “Yeah, why? Do I look older or something?”

          He shook his head vehemently back and forth. “No, not at all. I thought you were at least 21.”

          “Thanks, but no,” I smiled packing the clothes from my closet into the suitcase.

          Soon the room grew uncomfortable with the sudden silence.

          “Uh, so…may I ask why you were a dick to me earlier today? Was it because you were hungry or something?” I questioned as I began heading for my bathroom.

          “Um…yeah, I guess. Just been under a lot of stress lately, you know? We’re supposed to have so many episodes to air by the next season rolls around and it’s tough sometimes,” Zak sighed rubbing the back of his neck.

          “Yeah, I can imagine,” I called out to him from the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste, and facial wash before heading out of the bathroom. I packed my personal care into my suitcase and zipped it shut.

          “Alright, I think I’m ready to head out,” I sighed in relief. I glanced up and noticed for the first time how close Zak had moved to me.

          My eyes were level with the top of his chest. Being so close to him, I could see the clear outlines of his muscles through the thin, tight fabric of his shirt. I would always admire him while wearing those shirts when watching him on television. But being up close and personal to the real thing? Completely different. I swallowed passed the lump in my throat and resisted the urge to reach out and just run my hand over his abdomen. My eyes slowly made their way from the belt of his pants all the way up to his broadened shoulders. Then my eyes slowly made their way to his face. All I could do was stare and admire his features. Square jawline, aristocratic nose, high cheekbones, and piercing bluish-hazel eyes. Beyond that though were his lips. Those perfectly crafted, kissable lips. I watched in envy as his pink tongue darted out and wet those delectable lips of his.

          I couldn’t stop staring. I wanted so badly to kiss him. I had dreamed of this moment for years and now here it was in front of me presenting itself. All I had to do was lift up onto my tip toes and brush my lips against his. That’s all I had to do. So why couldn’t I move?

          “You have such beautiful honey brown eyes,” Zak whispered softly running his fingers along my jawline.

          I swallowed hard. “Th-thanks,” I stammered feeling my cheeks pinken. God, I felt like such a schoolgirl right now!

          “You, uh, have some pretty awesome eyes yourself,” I clumsily complimented. _You have some pretty awesome eyes yourself? What the hell is wrong with me?_ I mentally facepalmed myself.

          Zak gently tilted my head back so that my eyes met his. His face inched closer to mine. I panicked. First, he acts like a complete jerk to me and now he wants to kiss me? What was this crap? Was it his way of flirting or something? I didn’t know what else to do so I closed my eyes waiting for the moment his lips would meet mine. Whether he had been a jerk or not, kissing him was still a fantasy of mine.

          His fingers gently brushed my skin beneath my eye making goosebumps appear all over my skin.

          “You had a runaway eyelash on your cheek,” he whispered in my ear. My eyes snapped open to see him smiling. My cheeks flushed a bright red in embarrassment. He straightened to his full height before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

          “Well, if you’re ready to go, then let’s head out and get something to eat.” Zak ruffled my hair before quietly leaving the room.

          After he had left the room, I smacked my palm hard against my forehead.

          I can’t believe I thought he was going to kiss me.

          God I’m such an idiot sometimes. Epic fail on my part.


	6. Chapter 6

 

********Zak’s P.O.V.********

 

          I left Aerolynn’s room as quickly as possible without looking as if I was running out. After I closed the door a little bit behind me, I leaned up against the wall outside her room.

          I rubbed a hand down my face, groaning softly to myself. I can’t believe I almost kissed her. When I had seen her staring up at me with those big brown eyes, I could feel myself being drawn in by her. She had this magnetic pull that made me want to stay by her side, but knowing that, it angered me and made me lash out at her without meaning to. Mostly because of what that woman said. I didn’t want to have to rely on a woman to save me. I didn’t need saved to begin with.

          But as I stared into her eyes…I saw nothing else. And then when her eyes fluttered closed and her long, dark lashes brushed her cheek…All I wanted was to mold those blush pink lips with mine. By the time I realized what I was doing, I quickly made up the excuse that she had a lash on her cheek, but the entire time my inside was screaming at me to take the opportunity and kiss her.

          I sighed and shook my head to clear my thoughts. I pushed myself away from the wall and headed back for the living room where Nick and Aaron were busy playing some racing game on Aerolynn’s X-Box 360. I sank down into the seat next to Nick.

          “Problems, dude?” Nick asked. His eyes never left the screen as he drifted around a corner successfully cutting Aaron off.

          “Just what that woman said…it’s freaking me out, man,” I confessed.

          “Don’t let it get to you, bro,” Aaron replied as he frantically shook his controller thinking it would help him pass Nick.

          “I know,” I sighed. “I know.”

          “So, what do you think about Aero, man? Think she’ll survive the night?” Nick asked glancing over at me real quick.

          I shrugged. “She seems tough, but then again she may be putting on an act just to impress us. And if that’s the case, I don’t want anything to do with her. I don’t like people who investigate with us just because they want their fifteen minutes of fame,” I scoffed.

****************************************************************************************

**~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V.~~~~~~**

 

          I stood against the wall of the hallway in complete shock over what I had just heard. Is that what he honestly thought of me? That I had only called in to investigate with them for my fifteen minutes of fame? My heart sank hearing he thought that way after what had just almost happened in my bedroom. That electric moment we had shared. I can’t believe I allowed myself to be fooled again.

          Pissed off, I stormed into the living room and shut off the television.

          “HEY!” Nick and Aaron cried out in dismay.

          “Sorry, gentleman, but it’s time to go,” I curtly replied. I clutched the handle of my suitcase tighter in my hand as I did my best to not glare daggers over at Zak. “Didn’t you guys say you were hungry?”

          Aaron shot up out of the chair. “Oh yeah! Dude, now that you mention it, I’m—”

          “Starving, I know,” I chuckled. Aaron blushed slightly; he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

          “Yeah,” he mumbled.

          “Well, let’s head over to the motel and order in some pizza. I know of a really great pizza place that my friend owns,” I smiled still refusing to look over at Zak.

          Nick stretched his arms high above his head. He sighed in relief after I heard the subtle crack of his back.

          “Sounds good to me!”

          As the men made their way out the door, I took a chance and glanced over at Zak. His back was to me so he wasn’t able to see the disappointment in my eyes as I looked up at him.

          I quickly looked away as he turned back to glance at me.

          “Ladies first,” he offered holding open the door.

          “Then in that case you should go first, Princess,” I teased. He winced slightly at my tone of voice. Even I could hear the malice underlying my teasing tone.

          Not saying a word, he walked through the doorway and disappeared down the stairs.

          Sadness immediately consumed my body. I hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but how else was I supposed to feel after he had said something like that behind my back?

          I shook my head to clear my thoughts of him. I closed and locked the door behind me before following the men down the stairs. Zak could act however he wanted because I was about to see my best friend.

          God, I hope it makes him jealous.


	7. Chapter 7

 

          After we had gotten to the motel, I promptly dug out my cell phone and called the pizza place. When I had put in my order, my friend promised to hand deliver it personally. So here I was in the room Zak rented for me….waiting for my pizza….and my friend. I fell back onto the bed in a fit of giggles.

          I wanted to see the look on Zak’s face SO bad when my friend drops off the pizza. Mostly because I wanted to wipe that smug look off Zak’s face and see what he looked like when jealous. Then again…I was assuming he was going to get jealous. Ugh, I really hoped he did.

          My friend, Luke, and I had a very odd friendship. Mostly because we had dated at one point. After deciding that we were better off as just friends. We broke up and continued our close friendship. Because we were so close though, many people assumed we were dating. We would constantly hang all over each other and even on the occasion hold hands. But anyone who knew us personally knew we weren’t dating. After Luke had found himself a girlfriend though, we had stopped hanging out as much because we both knew how odd our friendship was and we didn’t want his girlfriend to get the wrong idea. I knew though if I explained the situation to Luke…he would definitely play along with me.

          I sat up abruptly pulled out of my thoughts when a loud pounding came at the door.

          “Coming!” I called out racing for the door. I could already smell the pizza.

          “Not without me you’re not!” A familiar voice chuckled.

          I swung open the door and threw myself into Luke’s arms with a squeal. Even though we lived in the same town and hung out on occasion, I still loved it whenever I had the opportunity to hug him without his girlfriend hanging around. She was very possessive of him and that irked both Luke and me, but he was more tolerant of it. I just rolled with the punches for his sake.

          Luke was about Zak’s height (six feet tall) except the muscles in his arms were a bit larger than Zak’s. He worked out at the gym at least 2 hours daily. His left arm was covered in multiple tattoos of various meanings and his bottom lip was pierced on the right side. Although he could look scary because of his height and size, Luke was actually a big softie. He had a boyish looking face complete with large baby blue eyes. His blonde hair fell in jagged layers to brush the tops of his shoulders. I could remember the times I would run my fingers through his hair to find it to be incredibly soft and full of shine.

          Luke held the pizza in one hand while wrapping his arm around my waist with the other.

          “Hey, beautiful,” he greeted releasing his grip on me.

          “How’s the business?” I asked taking the pizza from his hands.

          Luke shrugged. “Not doing too badly for this being a small town.”

          “How’s Janine?” I asked. I didn’t really care, but it was common courtesy to ask your best friend about his other half.

          Luke stared at me shocked. “I didn’t tell you?”

          My eyes widened. “Tell me she’s not pregnant.”

          Luke burst out laughing. “Trust me. She’s NOT pregnant,” Luke shuddered. “I couldn’t imagine the horrors of having a child with that woman.”

          “By the way you’re talking about her, I’m assuming you guys broke up?” I guessed perking up a little bit at the idea. I had never really liked her mostly because she kept me from seeing my best friend.

          Luke nodded. “Yupp. Just yesterday,” he sighed.

          “Who broke up with whom?” I asked finally motioning for him to come in the room.

          “I broke up with her. I fear if you had been there when it happened.”

          I laughed and set the pizza down on the bed. “Why?”

          “Because she flipped the fuck out, man! Holy shit. You thought she was crazy before? No longer than the words ‘I want to break up’ left my mouth, she was turning bat shit psycho. I swear I saw her eyes turn black and her fucking nails turn into long ass talons. That reminds me… make sure you keep your nails TRIMMED. You fucking girls and feeling the need to keep them long…do you realize those things can be used as a weapon??”

          I laughed at his rambling. How I had missed him talking up to the point he could no longer breathe. “Yes, I do realize that. It’s WHY we keep them so long. Just in case we don’t have any weapons handy like you men seem to do.”

          “Well…still. I have a nice fucking gash down my stomach. And you know I treasure my abs more than my face.”

          “Yeah, I know. I know,” I giggled. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly once more. “I missed you, Luke,” I sighed happily.

          “Of course you did. When I see my reflection, I’m like ‘hey there, handsome. Where have YOU been all this time? I missed your gorgeous self’.”

          I punched Luke in the arm. “You’re such a narcissist.”

          “Ugh, you and your big words,” he sighed.

          “It means self-absorbed you dunce.”

          “I know! I’m just saying that you could have said self-absorbed instead of nacre…nari…narcs—”

          “Narcissist?” I grinned.

          “Shut up. Yes that word.”

          I rolled my eyes. “Hey…since you’re single now…” I began.

          Luke sighed and sat down onto the bed. “I knew this talk was coming. You missed having my gorgeous body all to yourself didn’t you? I knew this day would come when you realized that me being your friend just was too much for you to handle.” He shook his head at me.

          I slapped him hard on the back of his head. “Don’t let your ego get ahead of what little brains you have left. That’s not what I was going to say.”

          He rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, one…that fucking hurt. Two: that was uncalled for. And three: what were you going to say then?”

          “One: it was completely called for. I had to beat your ego back to the dark hole it crawled out of somehow. Two: I need your help to make someone jealous.”

          Luke shot up off the bed rubbing his hands together like an evil scientist. “You know I do that all too well,” he grinned mischievously. “So who are we making jealous?”

          A slow smile spread across my face. “Zak Bagans.”

          Luke’s eyes widened. “Ex-squeeze me? Say that again for me, please?”

          “Zak—”

          “Yeah, I thought that’s what you said. I heard rumors that you had won the chance to go on lockdown with them, but you know this town and how they like to start rumors and shit.”

          I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. But will you help me out or not?”

          “How do you know it will even work? Do you know if he is into you?” Luke questioned folding his arms across his broad chest.

          “I don’t know if it will work that’s why I want to try and see if I can make him jealous because if I can…”

          Luke’s eyes widened in realization. “Then that means he’s into you. Or at least somewhat. Enough to get jealous.”

          “Precisely.” I patted his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you,” I cooed.

          Luke narrowed his eyes. “Shut up. I’m smarter than you think.”

          I chuckled. “I know, dear.”

          “But how will you know if he is jealous of me being next to you…and not YOU being next to ME?” Luke teased waggling his eyebrows.

          I gave him my most deadpan stare. “Nobody would be jealous of that,” I simply replied.

          Luke grabbed his shirt over his heart as if he had been struck there with a bullet. “Agh! You wound me with your sharp tongue and poisonous words.”

          I rolled my eyes, but smiled warmly. “So, Luke, I ask again. Will you help me?”

          Luke placed his hand over his heart and got down on one knee, bowing his head. “Whatever my Mistress wishes of me.”

          I took my foot, placed it against his head, and pushed him back onto his butt. “Don’t do that. It’s weird. Even for you.”

          Luke gave a hearty laugh. “Yes, I will help you.”

          I smiled. “Thanks, Luke. Now let’s go deliver the pizza to the guys and be sure to follow my lead.”


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

          I knocked on the door to the guys’ bedroom bouncing with contained excitement.

          “That better be the pizza,” I heard Aaron grumble through the door before opening it.

          “Surprise!” I laughed holding the large pizza box up for him to see.

          Aaron snatched the pizza out of my hands and quickly set the box down onto the bed. He opened the lid and took in a deep breath.

          “Mmmm, pepperoni and bacon pizza. There’s just so much glorious bacon,” Aaron praised. I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind Luke. I could feel Zak staring at me, but I refused to give in and meet his gaze.

          Nick pushed Aaron out of the way and grabbed himself a slice before situating himself back on the bed looking over something on his laptop.

          “This pizza is spectacular!” Aaron said between bites, a happy grin on his face.

          Luke laughed. “Thanks, man. So you guys are the famous Ghost Adventures crew?”

          “The one and only,” Nick replied furiously typing away on the computer.

          “Yeah. The one on the bed right there is Nick. The one savagely scarfing down the pizza is Aaron. And over there on the opposite bed is Princess,” I introduced making very brief eye contact with Zak.

          “Ah, so you’re Zak, huh? Cool. It’s nice to meet everyone. I’m Luke, a good friend of Aero’s,” Luke politely introduced himself.

          “Oh, so he’s just your friend?” Nick asked.

          “Um, yeah. Why? Did you think he was my boyfriend or something?” I chuckled subtly moving closer to Luke.

          “You guys just give off that vibe,” Nick replied wiggling his fingers at us.

          Luke wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “Yeah, we get that a lot. The sad truth of it is…it’s an unrequited love,” Luke sighed.

          I arched my brow up at him. “Huh?”

          “Aero is just so madly in love with me that it pains me to see such devoted love towards me, but, alas, I cannot reciprocate those feelings. My eyes just cannot see her beyond being my friend,” Luke dramatically explained complete with fake sobbing noises. I rolled my eyes and punched him in the stomach to make him release me.

          Just when I had opened my mouth to say something, I heard Zak scoff. “Yeah right,” he mumbled as he tinkered with a piece of equipment.

          “Excuse me?” I asked narrowing my eyes at him.

          Zak locked eyes with me. “I don’t see you having any sort of unrequited love for any guy.”

          I crossed my arms. “And why is that?”

          “You’re too strong and independent from what I’ve gathered,” Zak shrugged.

          Hearing him say something like that, after accusing me of pretending to be strong just for my fifteen minutes of fame? It made me completely snap.

          “But I thought I was only _pretending_ to be strong to impress you guys? I thought I was only on this trip so I could have my ‘fifteen minutes of fame’,” I air quoted.

          Nick and Aaron’s eyes widened in realization after hearing the familiar words Zak had said just an hour or so earlier. They both glanced over at Zak who seemed less surprised.

          “So you heard me say that did you?” Zak questioned coolly.

          “Yeah, I fucking heard you say it! You know if I had known you’d be such a fucking dick…I never would have called in,” I growled. “But after watching your show for so long and listening to you speak with other people…I honestly thought you would be different. It has been my dream to meet you and be able to go on lockdown with you. I felt like a schoolgirl about to meet her celebrity crush when I was sitting in my car waiting for you guys to show up. Only to find out you’re nothing like you appear to be on television. In reality, you’re just a cold-hearted, self-absorbed prick who only cares about TV ratings. Well, whatever. Fuck you, too,” I snapped. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes threatening to spill over.

          As I felt the first tear fall down my cheek, I turned and ran from the room. I ran out of the parking lot of the motel. I ran down the road and out of the city. I ran passed the MacMiller house. I ran as far as my legs could take me. I just didn’t want to deal with facing the reality that he wasn’t the Zak Bagans I had fallen in love with on television.

          Reality had come crashing down around me in the worst way possible.


	9. Chapter 9

 

********Zak’s P.O.V********

 

          I watched as Aerolynn ran out of the room near tears. Goddamn it. If she hadn’t have left with tears in her eyes, I probably wouldn’t feel half as bad as I feel right now. What was it about her that made me want to draw her close while at the same time push her away.

          I locked eyes with her so called “just friend” Luke. I could tell by the way he looked at her when she wasn’t noticing that HE was in fact the one that had the unrequited love on HER.

          “Uh, Zak…?” Aaron quietly called out making me turn my attention to him.

          “I’ll go look for her,” Luke sighed about to head out the door.

          I sprung up off the bed.

          “No, I’ll go. I’m the one that caused her to run away anyways. So it’s my job to go search for her,” I snapped. I didn’t want that guy anywhere near her. It was all I could do to refrain myself from nearly ripping his arm off when he pulled her body close to his. If they were “just friends”, then he had no right to do those sorts of things to her. Especially with the obvious love he felt for her.

          “Yeah, but I know all of the places she likes to—”

          “I don’t care. If that’s the case then tell me where those places are and I will go search for her. _Alone_ ,” I emphasized for good measure.

          Luke held my gaze for a long time before sighing in defeat.

          “Alright fine. There is a large wooded area that separates her grandparent’s house from the MacMiller’s house. If I know her well enough, and I do, then she most likely took the small forest path that starts right near the curve of the road. The entrance to the path is blocked by foliage and whatnot, so you’ll have to be sure to watch closely for it. Anyways, you basically follow that path and…well, you’ll find her,” Luke explained.

          I nodded my head in understanding and grabbed my jacket off the coat rack next to the door.

          “I’ll find her,” I promised.

          I shut the door behind me on the way out.

****************************************************************************************

~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V~~~~~~

 

          “Stupid jerk. Making me cry like some wimp,” I sniffed wiping away the remaining tears with the back of my hand.

          Wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip flops wasn’t exactly the best idea when walking on a hidden trail in the woods. Then again I didn’t think I would be walking through the woods at sunset. It was steadily growing cooler as the sun disappeared behind the horizon making me wish I had at least had the sense to grab my coat, but oh well. What’s done is done. I had just been hoping for a nice evening of playing truth or dare and basically making Zak jealous. Or seeing if he would get jealous.

          Because I had gotten so hot from running earlier, I had pulled back my thick dark brown hair into a ponytail so I could cool off a bit. And now that the cool night air was blowing across my sweaty body, I didn’t feel the need to have my hair up anymore, but I didn’t want to take it down either. It just got in my face too much and I really didn’t want to have to deal with it.

          I finally reached the end of the path and emerged from the woods to look out over the beautiful lake hidden deep in the forest. Luke and I had first stumbled upon this place when we were kids and had made it our secret hideout. As we grew older, we would come here to talk or occasionally go for a swim. Then when we started dating, we used this as our make out spot. There were so many memories involving this lake from the time I was small until now. Whenever I had grown frustrated with the world or just needed to escape, I always found myself here. Almost like I was being pulled here by an unseen force.

          I climbed up on the large stone rock that allowed me to gaze out over the sparkling water. It made for the perfect diving board, too. I sat down on the cool stone and wrapped my arms around my knees watching the final rays of the sun disappear beneath the horizon. While it was night here, somewhere in the world the sun I had just witnessed disappear…will rise to begin a new day on the other side of the world.

****************************************************************************************

**~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

          I had finally found the path around the time the sun had finally set below the horizon. Like Luke had said, it was well hidden. I pulled my small flashlight out of my jacket pocket and quickly made my way down the small path careful so as not to trip over anything.

          It was a good thing I was wearing pants and comfortable walking shoes, otherwise all these branches and thorns would be cutting up my legs pretty badly.

          As I neared the end of the path, I could barely make out her silhouette against what appeared to be a lake. I turned off my flashlight and quietly approached her wondering if she would sense my presence.

          I stopped at the end of the path and merely looked up the rock at her. She was sitting there so still, I thought maybe she had gone asleep. Until she shifted her head back to look up at the night sky.

          The moonlight outlined the profile of her face and I was stunned by her flawless beauty. My eyes slowly took in the delicate curvature of her jawline, her small round nose, and plump lips that were slightly parted as she peered up at the sky. The pale rays of the moon shone down upon her hair in a way that almost gave her the appearance of a halo surrounding the crown of her head.

          She turned her head in my direction and caught me gazing upon her. Instead of the angry, disgusted look I expected to get…she smiled instead and patted the spot beside her on the rock.

          Could she be the one the palm reader had foretold?

          Could this girl…this WOMAN…really save my damned soul? 


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

          I had known the exact moment when Zak had approached the end of the path. His presence…there was just something dark and unavoidable about his presence. It was almost like he carried the darkness with him wherever he went except he was unaware of it.

          Zak climbed up on the rock next to me and instead of facing out toward the lake like I was, he turned his back toward it. We sat there in comfortable silence for a while. I stared up at the bright crescent moon while he stared down at his hands. Neither one of us knew what to say.

          “I’m sorry,” I quietly apologized looking over at him. He glanced up at me, his brows bunched in confusion.

          “For what?”

          “For being all…” I waved my hands around in the air looking for the right word I wanted to use. “All…dramatic I guess.”

          Zak quietly laughed, turning his face up to the sky. “Don’t worry about it. You had every right to get angry. I accused you of only wanting to be on television only to turn around and say that’s not who you are at all. It’s a definite mindfuck,” he grinned over at me. I couldn’t help but return his smile.

          “Well, at least you are aware of the fact that you were an asshole,” I commented. Why was it that when we were alone like this, he was the Zak I saw on TV, but when we were around others his personality did a complete 180?

          “Of course I’m aware of it,” he chuckled as he leaned back onto his hands.

          “I don’t think you are fully aware of it ALL of the time though,” I quietly confessed.

          “What do you mean?”

          “You’ve been nothing but mean to me all day,” I pouted.

          “Not _all_ day,” he quickly pointed out. My cheeks flushed at the memory of his lips being so close to mine. They reddened even more when I remembered how he had just been removing an eyelash from my face. Although he removed the eyelash rather seductively.

          “Well, no I guess not. Which poses another question: why are you so nice to me when it’s just us like this?”

          “Honestly?” He asked.

          “Well, that would be preferred, yes,” I answered rather annoyed.

          “I don’t know why I’m so mean to you one minute and nice to you the next. I think it’s because when I am around the guys with all the equipment and stuff…it reminds me of the constant strain I’m under to finish filming these locations. But when it’s just you and me, I can feel at ease. I don’t need to frantically run around trying to get things done. I can just…relax.” Zak lifted his broad shoulders up in a shrug. “I don’t know. I sometimes feel like I am just making excuses for my behavior.”

          While Zak was talking , face up towards the sky, I marveled over the perfect structure of his face. That strong, square jawline…his straight, slightly pointed nose…his bow shaped lips. I could even see how long his black lashes were in the moonlight. God was definitely having a good day when he created Zak. I looked away and went back to staring out over the lake. The light breeze caused the sparkling waters to gently ripple the calm surface of the water; the moonlight reflected upon the black water. I sighed, content with everything that had happened up unto this point. Sure Zak and I had had a few bumps and bruises along the way, but overall I was glad I was able to win the chance to hang out with them. Even if I would only be seeing them for one more day.

          Thinking about how short of time I had left with Zak and the others, sadness consumed me. I didn’t want this time to end. I didn’t want them to leave just yet. I smiled sadly to myself. _At least I have one more day with them_.

          I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt Zak’s thumb brush across my cheek. I was about to ask if there had been another eyelash on my cheek when I noticed the tip of his thumb was sparkling with something wet.

          “You were crying,” he informed me. He backed up the rock a little more until he could look directly at me. I touched my cheeks and noticed there was a single damp track leaving the corner of each eye.

          “Oh…” I replied stupidly. When had I started crying?

          “Is something wrong?” Zak inquired his eyes never leaving my face.

          “No!” I quickly denied. “Well, at least I didn’t think there was,” I laughed nervously.

          “What were you thinking about?”

          I glanced away from his penetrating stare afraid I might start crying unknowingly again.

          “Just thinking about how quickly today has gone by and how after tomorrow’s lockdown, this fairy tale will end and my life will go back to the way it was. Boring and monotonous,” I sighed.

          “Oh…” Zak’s gaze dropped to the ground. “I suppose that is true, isn’t it?”

          “Yeah,” I softly agreed. “But it’s not like we get along all that well anyways, right?” I chuckled trying to lighten the sad atmosphere that had enveloped us.

          Zak looked up at me then, his eyes full of solemnity. The gravity of the situation combined with the heated look in his eyes made it nearly impossible for me to look away from him. I could feel my heart pounding hard and fast against my ribcage. I vaguely wondered if maybe he couldn’t hear it, too. Even though the only thing I knew about this man was what the internet told me or he himself admitted to on television…I had a strange sense of familiarity. I felt like I had known him my entire life. Like I knew about all of his likes and dislikes; all of his fears and his dreams; like I had shared with him the good times and led him through his darkest times. And when his eyes felt as if they were piercing straight through my barriers and into my soul? I could feel my heart begin to swell with the indescribable love I felt for this man who I had personally known for only a day. And for the majority of that day we had fought.

          When Zak finally glanced away, I could feel his magnetic pull on me suddenly release.

          I touched my forehead with a shaky hand as I inhaled deeply. I realized my lungs were lightly burning from when I had been holding my breath during the time we were staring at one another.

          Zak pulled himself up to sit on his haunches before standing up and brushing off his jeans. He held out his hand.

          “Well, I think it’s time we start heading back,” he said. I nodded in agreement and slipped my hand into his. A jolt of electricity shot up my arm from the contact.

          My eyes snapped up to his face to see if he had felt the same electric shot I just felt. His face remained impassive. _Must have just been my imagination_ , I thought to myself.

          He pulled on my hand at the same moment I was trying to stand making me stumble and fall against him straight into his arms. My cheeks erupted in a blush of embarrassment as I quickly entangled myself out of his arms.

          “Sorry,” I quietly apologized looking everywhere except at his face.

          His low, soft chuckle resonated throughout my body, warming me from the inside out. He slid his jacket off his shoulders and wrapped it around me. I glanced up at him in alarm. How had he known I was beginning to feel cold?

          “When I grabbed your hand it was ice cold. I figured you needed my jacket more than I did,” he answered almost like he read my mind.

          “Oh, um, thanks,” I smiled resisting the urge to revel in Zak’s dark, spicy scent. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and zipped the jacket closed. I could feel the warmth of his body that lingered in the jacket as it slowly warmed me.

          Zak grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. When I met his eyes, mine round in shock and curiosity, his lips merely curved upward in a grin.

          “I’d hate for you to stumble into me again,” he teased.

          I smiled and smacked him lightly on the arm.

          “It was your fault,” I laughed.

          “Nuh-uh,” he argued with a sly grin.

          I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, let’s just go, Princess. You’re the one that needs protecting. Not me,” I huffed like it was a nuisance to be so close to him and hold his hand.

 

          But inside I could feel the fireworks being lit off.


	11. Chapter 11

 

 

********Zak’s P.O.V********

 

          We walked down the thin forest trail hand in hand. Even though I had made the excuse of only holding her hand to keep her from falling, the truth of it was that I had grabbed her hand before I even realized what I was doing. She hadn’t necessarily seemed to be disgusted by it. Just maybe slightly annoyed, but I could tell by the way she was gripping my hand that she secretly enjoyed it. I smiled down at her even though her attention was focused on the small path that was barely lit by my pocket flashlight.

          She was so short, yet she dragged me along the path behind her like she was my bodyguard sworn to protect me at any cost. Thinking of her calling me by the nickname Princess made me strangely happy. The first time she had called me by that name, I was annoyed, but now I almost took it as some sort of strange endearment. One she had given to me and only to me. A smile spread across my face and I squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter.

          She glanced back at me for only a moment, but that moment was long enough for her foot to catch on a branch and fall forward. I jerked on her hand and pulled her back against my chest.

          “I told you to be careful,” I whispered in her ear amused.

          She quickly pulled out of my embrace and made sure to turn her face away from me. A wide smile split my face as I imagined her ivory colored cheeks deepening into a dark pink from embarrassment.

          “Yeah, well, it’s your fault for causing me to trip,” she huffed irritably continuing forward dragging me along behind her.

          I cocked a brow. “ _My_ fault? And how is it my fault you tripped over a stick?”

          She was silent for a moment contemplating her next words. “You caused me to look back at you which then made me trip over the stick that I could have easily avoided if you hadn’t been gripping my hand so tightly in yours.”

          I held back my laughter. “I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble, but uh…YOU are the one holding MY hand in a death grip. I’m pretty sure I have lost all circulation in my left hand,” I teased. She wasn’t holding my hand nearly as tight as I explained to her, but it was amusing to see her glance at me with a droll stare.

          “Whatever you say, Princess,” she mumbled under her breath. She flashed me a bright smile over her shoulder and winked playfully.

          I rubbed my chest in the area right over my heart. Why did my heart hurt whenever I saw her smile? I continued to rub my chest a little bit longer until the ache seemed to disappear. My gaze dropped to our intertwined fingers.

          I couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on my face.

****************************************************************************************

**~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

 

          _Omigod!omigod!omigod!omigod!omigod!omigod!_ I frantically chanted to myself inside my head. _I can’t believe he’s holding my hand! He’s holding my hand! WE’RE HOLDING HANDS!_ I screamed in excitement inside my head. If we weren’t holding hands, I’m pretty sure I would skip down the trail I was so happy right now. But I made sure to contain my excitement…no matter how hard that may be.

          When we emerged out on the side of the road, I expected there to be a car waiting for us. So when Zak ran straight into my back at my abrupt stop, I didn’t blame him. I looked both ways down the deserted road expecting to see a car somewhere, but the road remained as empty as ever. It reminded of that one scene in the movie “Dude, Where’s my Car?” when they were looking for Ashton’s car after coming out of the house.

          “Um…Zak?” I turned around to look up at him.

          “Yeah?” His tone of voice told me he saw nothing out of the ordinary like I did.

          “Did you…did you not bring a car?”

          Zak frowned and shook his head. “No, of course not. Why?”

          “No? _No?!_ What in the hell is wrong with you? Did you _walk_ here? Do you have _any_ common sense?” I yelled in frustration.

          “Well, _yeah_ , I walked here. YOU walked here and you don’t see ME complaining.”

          I took a mental note on how he said nothing about him having no common sense.

          “So you expect us to walk back to the motel…during the _freezing cold, pitch black night_ …on a _deserted_ country road…alone?!” I shouted completely shocked at his lack of intelligence.

          “You’re not _alone_ ,” he emphasized. “You have me.”

          I rolled my eyes. “I may as well have a rock on a leash to protect me. It would certainly have more common sense than YOU,” I snapped.

          “Hey!”

          “It’s freezing out here, Zak, and you want us to walk the three to four miles back to the motel in this cold?”

          “You have no room to complain about the cold, alright? At least you have a jacket.”

          “Well, I didn’t FORCE you to give me your jacket!”

          “I was trying to be a gentleman!”

          “Ugh, screaming at each other in this cold isn’t going to do either one of us any good. Especially if we get sick before tomorrow’s lockdown,” I sighed continuing to walk down the side of the road back toward town.

          We walked in silence for what seemed like eternity. Although we were still holding hands, it was no longer the sentiment is started out as. The angry tension between us was palpable even to a stranger’s eyes.

          “I didn’t bring a car because I figured we could use this time to talk things out so we don’t end up fighting all throughout the lockdown,” Zak explained breaking the silence. I continued walking, not paying him any mind.

          “And also, when I saw you disappear through that door with tears in your eyes…I became worried. I didn’t want you to be alone out here at night in this cold,” he softly admitted.

          Those quiet words broke through the angry wall I had put up. I sighed in defeat. It took too much energy out of me to try and stay angry at him for long periods of time.

          “I promise I won’t be a nuisance when the lockdown starts,” I vowed looking up at him.

          “Yeah, I know,” he smiled in reassurance.

          “I hope you find evidence of something.” I don’t know why it was so hard making conversation all of a sudden when before it had come easily. I felt like a hypocrite because I hated people who made mindless conversation and here I was doing the same thing I hated.

          “I’m sure we will,” he agreed.

          Then the conversation ended for the next hour while we walked back. When the motel’s lights came in sight, we smiled at each other in relief. Zak pulled out his phone and glanced at the time.

          “Not too bad. We made it back within about an hour and a half,” he notified.

          I looked over at his bare arms and noticed goosebumps had formed all over his arms. I released his hand and started to unzip the jacket when his hand covered mine.

          “It’s ok. I’m fine,” he simply replied knowing exactly what I had been about to do.

          “Zak, your arms are covered in goosebumps. I don’t want you to get sick,” I worried.

          “We’re almost to the motel anyways, I’ll be okay for another five to ten minutes,” he promised. “Keep the jacket and stay warm. I’m more worried about you getting sick.”

          I sighed and nodded my understanding letting my hands fall back down to my side. He zipped the jacket back up and we continued our walk up to the motel door.

          When we finally reached his room, we stopped outside the door just looking at each other.

          “Well, should we—”

          “I kinda just want to stay like this for a little longer,” I interrupted.

          “Why?” he quirked a dark brow in curiosity.

          “Because…as soon as we step through that door…you might start getting snappy with me again because of all the stress of the job. I just don’t want this…whatever _this_ is…to change just yet,” I quietly confessed. Nervous as to how he may react to my words, I looked away biting my bottom lip.

          He touched my chin with his fingertips and slightly tilted my head back until my gaze met his.

          “Nothing will change. I don’t want this to go away either,” he whispered.

          He cupped my face gently between his palms and brushed his thumb along my lower lip.

          “Did you know that the pale rays of the moon enhance the beautiful, delicate structure of your face? It’s like the moon was made to shine only upon you,” he complimented. My body erupted in shivers as his voice dropped to a deep, husky tone.

          “You’re a terrible flirt and your pick up lines are cheesy,” I whispered back breathlessly. Even I could hear the shaky quality of my voice.

          “That may be so,” he agreed. “But even so, they seem to have quite the effect on you,” he smiled bringing his face within inches of mine.

          I could feel my heart pick up speed from his close proximity; I could smell the mint on his breath from where it washed over my face. I was slightly afraid of embarrassing myself again by thinking he was going to kiss me when he really wasn’t. But by the heated passion in his eyes and seductive smile on his face, I knew this was no mistaking that he was about to kiss me. My eyelids fluttered close as his lips grew closer to mine.

          My heart pounded in anticipation.

          His breath grew hotter as he drew closer.

          And closer…

          I felt the slightest brush of his lips on mine when—

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

 

“Aerolynn!!” Luke shouted in excitement upon swinging open the door.

          Zak and I jumped so far apart you could have fit the entire country of Russia between us.

          Luke pulled me into a tight hug cutting off my airway.

          “Ack, Luke…I can’t….breathe,” I squeaked out.

          “Oh, sorry,” He laughed releasing his tight hold on me. I gasped for air reveling in the ability to breathe with ease again.

          “I thought maybe you guys had gotten lost or maybe even something had happened to you, Aero,” Luke worried cupping my shoulders in his hands. “I’m just glad you’re ok.”

          “Of course she’s okay,” Zak snapped at him. “She was with me. I told you I would bring her back.”

          Luke noticed Zak for the first time. “I know you did,” he replied curtly.

          I glanced back and forth between the men. There was a strange tension between the both of them. A tension I was pretty sure was caused by my presence. Had Luke seen me about to kiss Zak? But if he had, why did he interrupt when he knew how much I admired Zak? When he knew how badly I have wanted to kiss him since, like, the first time I had seen him on television? I narrowed my eyes and silently watched as Luke and Zak stared each other down.

          “Alright, children, let’s head inside before a fight breaks out. All this testosterone is making me dizzy,” I joked playfully punching each of them on the arm.

          Luke blinked a few times like he was snapping back to reality. He turned to me with a wide smile on his face.

          “C’mon! I brought Twister from my house while you guys were out. Let’s play, Aero!” He grabbed my hand dragging me inside.

          I tossed an apologetic look over my shoulder at Zak, but he had already turned his back on me.

          _I thought nothing was going to change_ , I thought sadly to myself.

****************************************************************************************  
 **~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

          I watched as Nick, Luke, and Aero twisted themselves around each other in an attempt to reach the colored dot that Aaron called out for them.

          “Right foot blue, Nick,” Aaron called out. Nick made a failed attempt at contorting his leg around to try and reach the blue spot on the white mat. Unfortunately for him, his other foot slipped beneath him and caused him to fall hard face first on the ground.

          “Nick, are you ok?” Aero asked concerned making sure she didn’t fall over Nick’s body. I scowled. Why was she so concerned over him?

          Nick laughed and stood up. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just you two now.”

          My scowl deepened. That bothered me more than it should have.

          I picked up the cold slice of pizza I had been nibbling on since they had decided to start playing this game.

          “Alright, Aero, left hand green,” Aaron announced. She groaned.

          “Come one, Aaron, give me a break would ya?” she pouted. Aaron laughed and shrugged.

          “Sorry, Aero, I can’t help what color the thing lands on.”

          She sighed, but quickly flashed Aaron a smile to let him know she was just playing around. I watched as she took the hand that had been resting on the red dot next to Luke’s and move it back onto the green dot behind her. The way she was positioned almost made it seem like she was doing a dance move. She was crouched down; her butt centimeters from touching the ground, with her two feet spread apart resting on the blue dots with her right hand in between her legs on the same color. Then she had her left hand placed behind her on the green dot.

          Luke had his right hand on the yellow dot next to Aero’s bottom, his left hand on a blue dot, his right foot on blue, and his left foot on red. I watched as Aaron spun the dial and called out Luke’s next move.

          “Left hand yellow, Luke,” Aaron called out. I sighed in relief. All he had to do was move his hand back one space.

          That’s when his eyes met mine and a slow smile appeared on his boyish face. I narrowed my eyes confused as to why he was smiling in such a way and then I noticed it. He had the opportunity to reach across Aero and place his body over her. My back stiffened against my bed’s headboard. He wouldn’t.

          I watched in horror as Luke brought his hand off the blue dot and shifted his body to lean over Aerolynn’s as he brought his left hand down on the yellow dot beside her. I could feel the anger welling up inside me threatening to burst. How could she not notice this obvious display of affection?

          I folded my arms over my chest. “It would have been much easier had you just moved your hand back one space,” I nearly growled.

          “But then it wouldn’t be an exciting game of Twister,” Luke shouted over his shoulder.

          “Hey, Aero,” I heard him say to her.

          She laughed. She LAUGHED. “Hey, Luke!” she greeted back cheerfully.

          How could she not see the way Luke looked at her? The yearning in his eyes? The obvious moves he made on her? _Why was she so blind to his obvious feelings toward her?_

          Not able to handle watching any more of this, I jumped up off the bed and stormed my way out of the room. I slammed the door behind me and walked over to the ice machine a couple of rooms down. I threw open the door to the ice machine and stuck my head in the cool air to calm myself down. Why was I getting so angry? If Luke liked her, so what? It was no problem of mine. It’s not like I had any feelings for her. I was just mad because she needed to be focusing on preparing for the lockdown tomorrow night, not messing around by playing childish games like Twister.

          At least that’s what I kept telling myself, but I’m not sure who I was trying to convince.

****************************************************************************************  
 **~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

 

          I watched in confusion as Zak angrily slammed the motel door behind him as he left the room. I looked up at Luke who seemed to be triumphantly staring at the door. Had I missed something?

          Brushing it off, we continued to play Twister until Luke finally made a slip up and fell to the ground knocking me over in the process. Nick, Aaron, Luke and I fell into fits of laughter over the silliness of it all. Everyone was having such a great time, so I couldn’t help but wonder what made Zak leave in such a fit.

          While the men talked about some random video game, I gathered up the Twister mat and stored the game back in its box. Every few minutes, my eyes would drift over to the door expecting for Zak to come barging into the room; his large presence making the small room feel even tinier. But he never came back.

          With a disappointed sigh, I stood up with the game in my hands and set it down on the bed next to Luke.

          “I’m kind of worn out. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I told them yawning. Luke stood up prepared to walk me out, but I shook my head and told him to stay here and talk with them since my room was only next door.

          After much convincing, Luke sat back down and watched me leave with worried eyes. I waved goodbye and quietly shut the door behind me. I was about to turn and head to my room when I noticed the door to the ice machine was open. I took a couple of steps in that direction when Zak’s head popped up out of the machine. He raked his hands back through his hair almost like he was frustrated with something before he stuck his head back into the ice machine.

          Figuring it was best to leave him alone I turned around and headed for my room. As soon as I changed and got situated under the covers darkness consumed me.


	13. Chapter 13

 

**The following night**

**MacMiller House**

**9:00 P.M.**

          “The time has come,” Aaron said ominously into the lens of his handheld camera.

          I smacked him on the arm. “Shut up, Aaron. You’re going to freak yourself out before we even begin the investigation.”

          “I’m not that scared of this place. I’ve been in scarier places,” he scoffed.

          I kicked a stray nail across the wooden floor. Aaron swung his camera around in every direction.

          “Holy shit, dude. Did you just hear that?” He whispered still looking for the source of the noise through his camera.

          I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you’re not scared. That was me kicking a nail across the floor.”

          Aaron lowered his camera down to his side. “Not funny, man. I thought we had actually captured something.”

          “C’mon, Aaron. It’s time to get serious,” Zak frowned.

          “So, how are we going to split up?” Nick asked looking down at the hand drawn map Zak had made. Scattered throughout the map were 3 black X’s.

          Zak pointed to the first X that was located in the basement and looked up at Aaron. “Aaron, you’ll be going down in the basement by yourself and see if you can capture anything.” Zak stared into the camera then. “The owner of the house reported hearing the cries of a small child and the occasional tugging on clothing. From what she said, James MacMiller who built this place…his daughter was playing alone inside the house while her parents were outside when she tripped and fell down the stairs to the basement snapping her neck on the way down. When the parents found her, she was already dead.”

          Zak glanced back up at Aaron. “So see if you can coax her out and get her to talk, alright? We laid out some toys and a couple of dolls down there for her to play with in the hopes of getting a response.”

          “Come on, dude! Why do I always have to be the one to go down into the creepy basements by myself?” Aaron whined looking into Nick’s camera lens.

          “Because the little children all love you, Aaron,” Nick teased. “You’re like the giant teddy bear they never had.”

          “Shut up, Nick,” Aaron laughed.

          “Okay, Nick you’ll be covering here on the first floor in the dining room,” Zak informed him pointing to the next X.

          “Was that the room they claimed things were being moved around the room?” Nick inquired.

          “Exactly. This is where the owner claims to have left certain objects in specific areas only to return the next morning to the room and find everything switched around. When they check the security tapes they found absolutely no evidence of someone breaking in, but they were able to capture a candle moving from one end of the dining table all the way to the other end,” Zak said straight into Nick’s camera. Although we weren’t live, he still had to explain about some of the areas we were investigating and why. I’m sure once this episode aired Zak would play the clip that showed the candle moving.

          “Let’s hope we can catch something of our own, huh?” Zak smiled before turning to me. “As for you, Aerolynn, you’ll be coming along with me and we’ll be investigating the second floor in the master bedroom. This is where claims have been made about seeing a tall, dark apparition appear at the end of the bed and just standing there before walking away and disappearing into the bathroom.”

          “Oooo, sounds scary,” I smiled doing my best to hold the camera steady while I filmed Zak. Nick turned his camera on me.

          “Are you ready for this, Aero?” he asked.

          “I was born ready, Nick,” I confidently answered.

          “Real quick, Aaron, let’s show them just how dark it is in here,” Zak replied.

          I watched through the night vision on my camera as Aaron turned the night vision off on his own camera.

          “This is what we are seeing right now,” Zak informed. “All we have to see by is these little LCD screens of the cameras. I can’t even see my hand that is right in front of my face, it’s that dark.”

          Aaron turned his night vision back on and turned around to film a different area of the house.

          “Alright guys, let’s split up and start this lockdown. Come on, Aerolynn, this way,” Zak motioned for me to follow him up the stairs.

          I viewed the stairs through the small LCD screen of the camera so I wouldn’t trip and fall into Zak on our way up. As we approached the top of the stairs a sudden chill raced down my spine.

          I swept the camera down the hallway to my right and then to my left. Nothing. Maybe I was just psyching myself out.

          “Alright, let’s go th—”

          That’s when I heard it. My name. _Aerolynn._ It was barely above a whisper.

          “Zak…” I softly called out to him grabbing the back of his shirt. He turned back to look at me, a concerned expression on his face.

          “I heard someone call my name,” I told him looking in the approximate direction of his face.

          “Was it loud enough you think you might have caught it on the camera?”

          I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

          “Well, let’s see. Here hold the EVP. We’ll check it next,” he said exchanging his EVP for my camera. Hearing my name whispered in the darkness was more unnerving than I wanted to admit.

          As Zak checked the film I glanced up to look down the hallway where the moonlight shone through the crack in the curtain at the end of the hall.

          And that’s when I saw her. She was no older than the age of 10 wearing nothing but a white summer dress and holding onto a curly haired doll. She smiled at me before darting through the door into a room near the end of the hall.

          Not even thinking about Zak at the moment, I raced after the little girl vaguely hearing Zak quietly call out to me.

          I swung open the door the little girl had disappeared into and saw her playing with her doll in the corner of the room. I was able to see through her to the toys that lay behind her. That’s when the reality of it hit me. I had just followed an apparition of a little girl into a room by myself. A little girl who was now smiling too widely and maniacally for my comfort. My eyes widened in horror when I realized the mistake I had just made. I pivoted on my heel prepared to race out the door and back to Zak, but the door slammed in my face. The unmistakable sound of the lock clicking into place.

          “Zak!” I cried out pounding on the door. I turned the doorknob, but to no avail. I was locked inside.

          “Aerolynn! Unlock the door!” Zak called from the other side of the door. Tears ran down my cheeks. We weren’t even twenty minutes into the investigation and something like this had already happened to me.

          “I can’t Zak. Sh-she locked it,” I sobbed.

          “Who?”

          “The little girl!”

          Not again. This couldn’t be happening to me again. I should have known from my last mistake to never go anywhere alone when at a haunted place because stuff like this always happened. They realized I could see them beyond the ability of a normal person. They believed I would be able to help them leave the darkness and step into the light, but I was never able to help them. Most of them had already given in to the darkness that slowly ate away at the humanity left in their soul.

          I slowly turned around to come face to face with the pale white smiling face of the little girl.

          “Hello, Aerolynn,” she greeted in a soft, soprano voice. “Let’s play a game.”


	14. Chapter 14

 

********Zak’s P.O.V********

 

          I banged on the bedroom door calling out Aerolynn’s name. “Aerolynn! Try to open the door!” I jiggled the door handle once more. It was still locked.

          “I already told you, Zak, she has it locked! The little girl!” Aerolynn cried from the other side of the door.

          “I’ll bust it down then!” I growled taking a step back ready to kick my heel into the door.

          “No, Zak, don’t!” She cried out frantically. Confused, I put my leg back on the ground.

          “Why?”

          “Just…just let me do this. Let me talk to her. Please…” she replied. Although it seemed like she was merely asking for a simple request, I could hear the subtle hint of her pleading for me to just let her talk with the ghostly girl. But it was because of the soft crack in her voice that led me to believe that this went deeper than just needing to talk to her.

          “Alright, fine,” I sighed. I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone with the spirit. Especially after she had trapped Aero inside, but I also didn’t want to possibly anger the spirit either and cause Aero to become frustrated.

          “I’ll alert the guys about what is going on, but then I am coming back and I will stand outside this door waiting for you, ok? So don’t go anywhere without me,” I warned.

          “Ok,” she agreed.

          I stood there for a few more seconds contemplating on whether I should bust the door down anyways, but I told her I wouldn’t and I always kept my word.

          With a sense of urgency, I quickly made my way down the hallway to find the boys with nothing to guide me except the small LCD screen that painted everything in green.

****************************************************************************************  
 **~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

 

          Don’t go anywhere? Where did he expect me to go with the little girl locking me inside the room? I took a deep breath and turned back around to face the little girl. My heart pounded hard against my chest making the blood race through my veins. All of this happening at once nearly made me dizzy.

          “Open the curtains,” the little girl softly demanded.

          Afraid of what she might do if I didn’t, I obliged the little girl’s command. When I pulled the heavy draperies apart, moonlight spilt forth into the room casting eerie shadows all along the wall. The only thing that didn’t cast a shadow was her.

          “Are you the little girl that fell down the stairs a long time ago? After the house was first built?” I asked trying not to focus on the fact that she was more translucent in the moonlight than she had been in the shadows.

          She shook her head and gripped the ghostly doll tighter to her chest. “No. She…she was…taken,” the girl softly answered.

          “Taken?” I asked curiously. “What do you mean she was taken?”

          The girl shook her head; her dark curls bouncing around her face. That’s when I realized that her doll looked eerily similar to her. Then again I guess that was somewhat common back when she had been alive. Assuming she had been dead for a while.

          “I want to play a game first,” she answered with a huff. “If you win, I’ll answer your questions.”

          I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t positively sure what kind of game this girl wanted to play, but something told me it wasn’t going to be an innocent game of hide-and-seek.

          “What is it you want to play, then?” I inquired.

          She smiled and twirled around in a circle. I was barely able to catch a glimpse of the slight rip in her dress as it billowed out around her. I wondered what could have caused that. “I’m so glad you want to play,” she giggled.

          “What’s the game?”

          “You have to solve a riddle,” she answered.

          I arched a dark brow curious and shocked. That’s it? She wanted me to solve a riddle? Although I had never been good at them, I figured it couldn’t be too hard coming from a little girl. She may use a Mother Goose nursery rhyme and I knew the majority of those.

          I smiled. “Alright, fine. Tell me your riddle.”

          The little girl began rocking back and forth on her feet as she began, “There was a girl who was extremely brave and always bragged about how brave she was. Many of her classmates got sick and tired of her boasting, so they decided to play a nasty, evil trick on her. One day, a group of boys and girls walked up to her and said, ‘If you’re so brave, we all dare you to go to the old graveyard at the back of Ol' Man Jenkins mansion all alone at midnight. Stand in front of a tombstone, rumor has it that if you do, a bony hand will reach out and grab you to drag you underground! You said you were brave so that shouldn't be so hard! To prove that you actually went, stick a knife in front of a tombstone so in the morning, we'll know you were there.’

          “Of course, the girl couldn't refuse,” the little girl continued taking a deep breath. She had stopped rocking by this point and her eyes shone with sadness. “She stupidly agreed to the dare even though she was afraid of the dark and the old mansion. Even so, at midnight she did just as her classmates asked and went to the graveyard with a pocketknife. The night was cold and windy, blowing her dress around and sending chills down her spine. She slowly walked up to a tombstone and quickly stuck the pocket knife into the ground. She was beginning to feel that maybe she was not as brave as she thought she was. Turning around as fast as she could, she just wanted to get out of there right away! But there was a problem. Something was stopping her from moving. Was it a bony hand trying to drag her down? She was too afraid to turn around and look. Instead she screamed. The next morning, the boys and girls who had played the trick on her went to the graveyard to see if the girl had been there. To their horror, she was lying there on the ground…dead,” the little girl finished. Her eyes met mine.

          “So riddle me this: what was holding the girl back and how exactly did she die if nobody was around?”

          I thought over the short story she had just told me. It seemed to me the answer was obvious. That she had somehow stabbed herself with the knife, but had been too frightened about what she was doing that she didn’t realize it until she found herself unable to move.

          I glanced at the girl, opening my mouth to tell her my answer when she held up a finger to stop me.

          “The answer is more obvious than you might first think so think carefully. I’m only giving you one chance to answer this right,” she tacked on.

          “What?! That wasn’t part of the deal!”

          She shrugged. “Better think of the answer carefully because if you don’t get it right, I’ll make you spend the rest of eternity with me.”

          I gulped past the lump of fear in my throat. I hated riddles. I never guessed them right on the first try. I never should have agreed to this, but at the same time I didn’t realize I would only be getting one shot at it either. My eyes slid over to the door wondering if Zak had made it back yet.

          “You can’t ask him for help!” The girl snapped coming into my line of sight.

          “I wasn’t going to!” I snapped back. The girl eyed me closely before deciding that what I had said was the truth.

          “Oh! And another thing,” she blurted.

          “What?” I sighed.

          “You only have five minutes to give me the correct answer. If you don’t give me the correct answer by then? You’re going to die,” she giggled.

          “But—!”

          “Sssshhh! Better hurry now. You’ve already wasted a minute and a half. Good luck!”

          Then she disappeared.

          I only had three and a half minutes left to solve this riddle before I was killed by the hands of the ghost of a little girl.

          Fuck.


	15. Chapter 15

 

          What in the hell was I supposed to do? I couldn’t solve this thing in three and a half minutes! And when I had been about to tell her my answer, she interrupted me to tell me she had added on some ridiculous guess and time limit. Shortly after that she had disappeared. Did I have to call her back if I wanted to tell her my answer? Or would she come back when the five minutes were up?

          I pulled at the hair on either side of my head in frustration. I was still stuck on the idea that she had somehow stabbed herself with the pocketknife, but that led to the question as to how? I recalled the girl’s questions: what was holding her back and what killed her? If the knife had killed her, then what held her back? Paralysis from fear maybe? That’s been known to happen sometimes where you become so distraught with fear your body becomes paralyzed, but that still doesn’t really answer the question on how she died. If she died by stabbing herself with the knife, the more logical question is: if that happened, how in the fuck did she not know?

          I fell back against the wall and let out a scream of frustration. I was freaking out because I wasn’t sure of how much time I had left and my brain was about to explode from being able to answer one question logically only to run into a brick wall with the answer to the other question.

          That’s when the image of the little girl twirling around in a circle flashed into my mind. That rip on her dress. How on earth could a little girl get a rip like that in her dress unless she got caught on something? My eyes widened in realization. That was it. THAT was the answer.

          I pushed myself off the wall and walked out into the center of the room.

          “Little girl! Little girl I know the answer! Please! I know the—”

          “Stop shouting, I’m right here,” she huffed with a roll of her eyes.

          She stood in front of the window completely illuminated by the moonlight. Her tiny arms were crossed over her chest with her doll secured tightly to her chest.

          “Lucky you. You called out with only 26 seconds to spare,” she informed me tapping her foot on the wooden floor.

          “So? Tell me your answer then,” she demanded.

          I took a deep breath and reassured myself that there were no other answers other than this one that made logical sense all the way around.

          I smiled down at her transparent face. “Well…”

****************************************************************************************  
 **~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

 

          It had only taken me a few minutes to find Nick and Aaron and let them know what happened. I assured them that everything would be okay, so it was pertinent that they keep investigating other areas of the house, but to stay off the second floor. Fortunately, they didn’t argue and complied.

          When I had come back to the room, I had been about to rap on the door to let Aerolynn know I was back, but had stopped myself when I heard a girl yelling.

          “You can’t ask him for help!”

          “I wasn’t going to!” I heard Aerolynn snap back.

          Everything after that was muffled by the door as their voices were too hushed now.

          Figuring it was best to leave her alone to talk with the little girl I leaned up against the wall beside the door. I had stopped recording a long time ago and was now staring absently down at the LCD screen wondering if Aerolynn was ok. I tilted my head back to rest it against the wall. I should have just kicked the door in anyways ignoring Aerolynn’s protests. If I had then we could have just gotten out of here and my mind wouldn’t be so consumed with worry right about now. We could always come back and investigate this place later when Aerolynn wasn’t with us. I sighed. That didn’t matter now that I had already made my decision.

          I jumped away from the wall startled when a sudden scream of pain came from the other side of the doorway.

          I lifted my fist to bang on the door when I felt a small tug on my shirt. I glanced down and saw the ghostly hand of a small child. I turned and came face to face with, more than likely, the child Aerolynn had wanted to communicate with.

          “What did you do to her?” I nearly growled as my hands clenched into fists.

          “Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine. And if not?” The girl shrugged. “She’ll be spending the rest of eternity playing games with me.”

          Her smile sent shivers down my spine.

          “What do you want with her anyways? Why did you go after her instead of me?”

          The girl’s smile faded as a look of melancholy befell her face. At that moment, she appeared to be wise beyond her years.

          “I didn’t go after you because you ultimately have the same fate as me. Both of our souls are being consumed by the darkness that dwells within us. The only difference between us is: you are still alive. You have a better chance at vanquishing that darkness that is eating away at you. Since I am dead…it is slowly eating away at the little humanity I held on to when I died. It’s turning me into something vicious and cold-hearted. Even so, I want to see if I can save what little piece of humanity I have left in me. I want to try and save my soul,” she quietly confessed as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

          “But what does that have to do with Aerolynn?” I asked still confused. I wasn’t even going to ask how she knew about the darkness surrounding my soul.

          The girl’s eyes widened. “You can’t see? Do you not feel it when you are around her? She—”

          “Little girl!” A dulled voice shouted out from inside the room. The girl sighed as her form began to fade away.

          “Wait!” I quietly shouted reaching out to her. “What were you going to say about Aerolynn? Tell me! She what? She what?!”

          “If you can’t see it, then I’m afraid the darkness may have already made you blind to any light that surrounds you,” she answered sadly before vanishing completely.

          I stood there stunned as to what had just happened. I had just had an intelligent conversation with a full bodied apparition and for once hadn’t cared about being able to catch it on camera.

          But still my mind reeled with what the girl had said.

          _If you can’t see it, then I’m afraid the darkness may have already made you blind to any light that surrounds you._

          What had she been about to say about Aerolynn? And what was with that parting statement?

          I turned around startled when Aerolynn emerged from the room breathless, but smiling and alive.

          “Zak!” she breathed in excitement running toward me. I opened my arms and hugged her tightly against me. I had been so afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold her in my arms again, but I should have known my fears were for not. She really was a strong woman.

          The little girl appeared behind her and smiled sadly.

          “A deal is a deal. I will answer your questions,” she replied.

          Aerolynn gently pulled herself away from my embrace and bent down on one knee so she could be at eye level with the girl.

          “Then answer my—” I began.

          “I didn’t make a deal to answer _your_ questions. I made a deal to answer hers,” the girl interrupted.

          Aerolynn nodded at the girl and flashed me an apologetic look over her shoulder. I gave her thumbs up to let her know it was ok.

          “How about we start with your name and how you died,” she told the girl.

          “My name…is Mary,” she began.


	16. Chapter 16

 

 

          “My name is Mary. I died just a little over twenty-five years ago now,” the little girl began.

          “How old are you?” I asked her. Zak sat down beside me in the center of the bedroom. We had moved into the room figuring it would be better in there with the moonlight streaming in through the window.

          “Twelve,” she answered.

          “Twelve?!” I gasped in disbelief. And here I thought she had been no older than 10. Her dark curls and large, round eyes are what must have made her appear younger to me.

          She nodded continuing with her story on how she died. “That riddle I gave you to solve? It wasn’t really a riddle at all. It was the story of my death,” she answered sadly.

          I nodded having already guessed that one. Zak remained silent beside me as he listened intently to every word Mary spoke.

          “Only the Ol’ Man Jenkin’s mansion I told you about was actually this house. I died right here behind the MacMiller house. It was no lie that I was a very brave girl for my age. Whenever I would hear another boy or girl say they had been too scared to do something, I went and did it. But it was only because I wanted to make friends,” Mary stated sadly.

“My parents and I had just moved to Sunfire Falls and they forced me to go to school during the middle of the school year. I pleaded with them to wait until the next school year, but they were afraid I would fall too far behind and have to redo a year. Because my family was rather poor, my mother handmade all of my dresses even this one. The one I took to my grave,” she said twirling around in a circle to show us.

“The other kids made fun of me for it though saying that my mother stitched together rags and pieces of trash. And because I was new to the school, I didn’t know how to act around such hateful comments. Whenever I told my parents, they just said to smile and be friendly. They told me to be brave. So I did. I started doing the things that others couldn’t in the hopes that they would see how easy it was, but they didn’t see it that way at all. They saw it as me boasting about my courage and whenever I tried to explain it to them they wouldn’t listen. It made them hate me even more.

“But one day near the end of the school year, all the kids in my class same up to me and told me about that creepy story of the bony hand dragging you down into the grave at midnight. They dared me to go and stick a dagger by the grave to prove I was there. And even though I had heard the house was haunted, I still wanted to go in the hopes that maybe they would accept me. So, I stole my dad’s pocketknife and snuck out of the house near midnight to made my way to the old MacMiller house since I lived in that tiny house next to the motel I didn’t have to walk too awfully far.”

“You lived in that house?” I questioned in shock, thinking of the old ramshackle house that the motel had turned into a storage shed of sorts.

Mary nodded. “Being out alone at night scared me. The darkness itself scared me, but I finally reached the house and snuck around back to the small graveyard where the original MacMiller’s were buried including Mr. James MacMiller himself. He was the man who built this house originally and was the one who supposedly dragged unsuspecting victims into his grave. So, doing what any brave girl would do who wanted to make friends, I ran up to his grave, kneeled down, and stuck the knife into the ground. It was so dark that I wasn’t sure where I had stuck the knife, but I had prayed I stuck it near the gravestone. Except when I went to turn away…I couldn’t move.

“I felt something tugging at the hem of my dress and I began to cry thinking that the rumors had in fact been true. That I was now about to be dragged into his grave and to my death. My mind raced with these thoughts and I could hear my heart race faster and faster; feel it pounding harder and harder against my chest as I continued to try and pull myself away. Before I knew what had happened, I could feel that I was no longer trapped and I could move around freely. That’s when I saw my body lying on the ground and I knew then that I was dead.”

Zak and I stared at Mary as she finished her story Tears had begun to well up in my eyes at the horrid thought of dying in such a way.

“So you were right,” she sighed. She twisted her fingers around the doll’s curls. “I had accidently stuck the pocketknife through my dress and pinned it to the ground. I tried to escape for so long up until the moment my heart gave out from the fear of imagining what was holding me back.”

Zak glanced over at me then and lifted his lips in a sad smile. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder.

“I had remembered seeing that tear in your dress from when you had twirled around before and that is what gave me the final clue that I needed to solve the riddle,” I explained to her and Zak.

Mary nodded in understanding. “I figured you were smart enough to solve it. I just had to give you a little incentive so you wouldn’t waste your time and mine making ridiculous guesses.”

My eyes went wide. “Are you saying that you wouldn’t have killed me after my five minutes were up?”

“Oh no, I definitely would have, but I would have given you one more chance to get it right,” she smiled innocently.

Zak softly laughed. I loved how I could feel his chuckle vibrate through his chest and into me.

“By that time, I would have kicked the door in to come and rescue you,” he reassured me.

“How odd for a princess to be saving the damsel in distress when it should be a prince on a white steed,” I teased glancing up at him under my lashes.

“How about a rogue knight on a black stallion instead?”

The image of Zak riding in upon a black stallion popped into my head making me look away as I felt a blush heat my cheeks.

“So how did you become trapped here then?” Zak inquired looking back at Mary.

Mary narrowed her eyes. “I’ll only answer that question because it has nothing to do with what we spoke of earlier,” she growled.

My head snapped up then. They had spoken earlier? Is that where Mary had gone when she had left me in the room alone to think? I glanced between her and Zak. What had they talked about I wonder?

“I died never having made the friends I so desperately wanted to have. In a way, I guess you could call that unfinished business, but because no one ever comes here because of the rumors of it being haunted…it made it very difficult to make any friends. I thought I had started making friends with Caroline, James’ daughter, but she was taken a while back,” Mary explained with a distant look in her eyes.

“You said that before that she had been taken. What do you mean?” I asked reiterating my question from earlier.

“Her soul was consumed by the evil that grew inside her. She was no longer of her own thought or mind. The darkness now controls her. That is why her father locked her soul away in the basement. So she couldn’t harm others and ultimately herself.”

“Her father locked her away?” Zak asked. I could tell by the way his back straightened that his interest had been piqued.

“Yes. He told me that Caroline hadn’t immediately died when she fell down the stairs. She merely became paralyzed, but during that time she was alive and unable to move hate consumed her soul. She blamed her parents for not spending more time with her and playing with her the way she had begged them to each day. That the only time they had begun paying attention to her was when she had become bed-ridden. He said shortly before she died, he took her down into the basement and had a witch of sorts perform a spell that would trap her soul here in the basement so that she couldn’t cause harm to the others and damage her soul even more.”

“That poor girl,” I sympathized.

Mary shrugged. “I tried to talk with her each day after I found out I was trapped here at the house as well, but she would never fully open up to me nor call me friend,” she admitted dejectedly. “Even in the afterlife it seems I can’t make friends.”

“You said the darkness was consuming you as well, but why at such a slower rate?” Zak fired off at her causing Mary to step back at the sudden question.

“I promised to only ans—”

“It’s ok, Mary,” I interrupted.

“Fine,” she huffed annoyed. “Because when I died, my heart wasn’t consumed with hate at what the children did to me. I felt pity towards them that they felt the need to push such a dare onto a child who only wanted to make a friend in her new town. Over the years though, I grew to hate my parents because I felt it was their fault I had died. If they hadn’t have been poor and if mother had not made my dresses from recycled clothing material, then I wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with. Not only that, but I was still without a friend in the world. I couldn’t even attend my own funeral to see who all had shown up and that angered me. I had a good guess though that only my parents attended the funeral since they had cut ties with each of their families once we had moved here.”

Mary fell to her knees in front of me shocking me at her sudden close proximity to me.

“But then I saw you,” she smiled. “I knew that you could save the small part of my humanity that I am stilling holding tightly onto. I knew that you could help me step out of this darkness consuming my soul and reach for the light. I could tell by the warm glow of your soul that the darkness could not reach you and instead coiled away from you in fear and pain. It’s that light that I know will help me leave this place.”

I stared at her in shock. Me? She thought I was the one destined to help her? That I could pull her out of the depths of Hell to reach Heaven? I wasn’t Castiel from Supernatural. I couldn’t just pull damned souls out of Hell and place them back where they needed to be.

“Oh, I- I don’t think I can…”

“You can!” She shouted in frustration. “I know you can! Please, all I need is a friend. I know that if I can gain at least one friend then I won’t have to be stuck here anymore. I won’t have to live with this pain and hate slowly eating away at me. Just _please_ ,” she begged as tears formed in her eyes.

“I don’t know what you want me to do,” I sighed in defeat. I hadn’t been able to help the other spirits I had come across in my lifetime, but maybe I could help her.

Her smile was so wide I swear it reached from ear to ear. It made me happy to see her eyes sparkle with pure happiness instead of tears for once.

“Just follow my instructions.”


	17. Chapter 17

 

**The following morning**

**7:00 A.M.**

**MacMiller House**

          When we finished speaking with Mary, we left to go find Nick and Aaron only to emerge from the bedroom and finding them filming the whole thing. Zak, angry at what they had done, made them delete the entire footage right there on the spot saying that they had no right to share something like that. That what had just happened would stay between us four. Although the men had been disappointed at the stunning piece of evidence they had collected, they understood what Zak was saying.

          Aaron reported not much happened in the basement except there were a couple times he heard a girl sobbing in the corner, but was unable to catch it on the EVP. Nick’s report was much the same on the dining room. He had seen nor heard anything to raise suspicions. To my surprise, Zak hadn’t seemed too disappointed over the lack of actual evidence. He had just shrugged and said they would come back and investigate the house another time when things weren’t as hectic. Which I translated that into when I wasn’t around to cause anymore spirits to go nuts and lock me inside a room with a five minute time limit on solving a riddle of their own death. Although I had to admit Mary was a sweet girl who had had a rough life while she had been alive.

          As the owner unlocked us, we stepped out into the bright sunlight carrying our equipment. I tilted my face up towards the sun and reveled in the warmth of its rays.

          “C’mon, let’s pack up the equipment and set out to do what we promised,” Zak said bringing me out of the momentary daydream I had slipped into while basking in the sun.

          I nodded and flashed him a giant smile. The instructions had been simple. Surely I could help Mary move on. I followed Zak to the van with some of the equipment and packed it away in the truck with all of the other cameras and whatnot. Zak slammed the door to the trunk closed.

          “Alright, to the funeral home,” he announced.

****************************************************************************************  
          “Is this it?” Nick asked as the four of us stood looking down at the small gravestone that was covered by moss and foliage. I knelt down and pulled away as much off the foliage and moss as possible so that we could read the words engraved on the stone. They read:

 

Here lies

Mary Elizabeth Arthur

Beloved daughter

March 3, 1975 – May 11, 1987

 

          I nodded my head to answer Nick’s question. “Yeah, this is it.”

          Aaron stepped forward and lifted the sledgehammer we had borrowed from Luke over his head. Boy, had THAT been an interesting conversation between Luke, the guys, and I. Nick backed up while Zak grabbed the upper part of my arm and pulled me away from the old, weathered gravestone.

          I watched as the sledgehammer came down on the grave with a loud crack. The stone crumbled to pieces leaving only a small portion sticking out of the ground. Nick glanced my way and I nodded my consent. Cautiously, he approached the shattered grave and pushed some of the pieces of stone away before placing a new glistening, black marble headstone against the old one. He piled some of the crumbled pieces of stone around the base of the new grave so that it would stay in place. Zak reached his arm around me and held the bouquet of flowers in my face. We had gotten a variety of flowers each with a different meaning. In the bouquet were lilacs symbolizing youthful innocence and confidence; daffodils symbolizing rebirth, new beginnings, and eternal life; and last, but not least, the bouquet held alstroemeria symbolizing friendship.

          Although the only instructions she had given us were the directions to her grave so that we might pay respects to her, our newfound friend, Zak and I had both decided that visiting her grave just wasn’t enough. So we had gone to the funeral to see about getting a new headstone made for her since we figured her old one would most likely be fading away. Then we stopped by a flower shop where the florist helped us pick out each flower that held the meaning we were looking for. We made sure to get a flower that symbolized friendship. The only problem was the florist didn’t actually have that flower since it didn’t grow anywhere near these parts, so instead she crafted us an imitation to take with us free of charge. In my opinion, that was even better because then that meant our new friendship would never die and would live on eternally.

          I took the bouquet out of Zak’s hand and gently sat them on top of the grave.

          “I hope this will allow you to rest in peace…friend,” I whispered with a smile. I kissed the tips of my fingers and then touched my fingers to the new headstone where we had engraved:

 

_The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy._

_~John F. Kennedy_

Mary Elizabeth Arthur

Beloved daughter

Cherished friend

Brave until the end

March 3, 1975 – May 11, 1987

 

          I stepped back and smiled down at the words we had chosen to mark on her grave. Zak wrapped his arms around me from behind gently resting his chin on the top of my head. I reached up and grabbed his arms that were wrapped around my shoulders.

          _Aerolynn…_

          I looked around as I heard my name whispered in the gentle breeze that caressed my skin. That’s when I saw her. Mary.

          She was standing a few feet behind her grave smiling at me. She no longer seemed to be as dark and subdued as she had appeared in the house. She now shone with the brightness of the sun and her face sparkled from the tears that flowed down her cheeks.

          _Thank you_ , she mouthed letting her eyes flutter closed and lifting her head up to the sun. She disappeared within a single moment as a bright light washed over her.

          When she disappeared, I could feel myself become lighter like I had been carrying the weight of her death on my shoulders. And now that she had left the darkness, I no longer had to worry about the troubles she may face if she was left all alone in that house. Something inside me had shifted and I felt like a newer, happier person.

          “She’s gone. She’s no longer being consumed by that awful hate and pain,” I quietly informed the boys with a sad smile on my face.

          Zak moved his head to look at me from the side. “You don’t seem happy about that,” he commented.

          I shook my head. “No, I am happy,” I laughed in order to reassure him that I truly was happy. He nodded and released me from his embrace.

          “Alright, guys, it’s time to head back to the motel and get some much needed rest,” Zak called out to Nick and Aaron as he walked back to the van.

          I turned and watched as Nick and Aaron dutifully followed behind Zak. Even though I had helped Mary finally crossover, there was still a large, gaping hole inside me. I had thought that maybe after saving Mary that hole might begin to fill with the self-satisfaction of helping a spirit crossover. That was apparently not the case.

          Zak turned around when he reached the driver’s side door and met my gaze. Even from here I could see the happiness shining in his bluish-hazel eyes. His lips curled upward into a happy, goofy grin.

          “C’mon, Aerolynn!” He called over to me before climbing inside the car where Nick and Aaron sat waiting.

          I rubbed my chest over my heart. Why was it aching so much? Why would this empty feeling not go away?

          And why did it only grow stronger when Zak wasn’t around?


	18. Chapter 18

 

 

           I woke up to the sound of someone pounding on my door. I blinked open my eyes still groggy from sleep. I reached out my hand to find my phone that was sitting on the nightstand charging. The clock read 4:22.

          My eyes widened in alarm. Was it really that late in the afternoon? Granted we had returned to the motel at around nine after staying up all night investigating, but still.

          The pounding came again.

          “Coming!” I shouted as I threw my legs over the side of the bed. I stretched my arms high over my head, sighing at hearing satisfying crack from my lower back.

          I shuffled over to the door and swung it open to reveal a very shocked Zak.

          “Uh…” he stuttered. His cheeks turned a light pink as he looked down at what I was wearing.

          I followed his gaze. “Agh!” I yelped in surprise before slamming the door in surprise. I forgot that I was only wearing my tank top and boy cut underwear since I usually got really hot at night under the covers.

          “Why didn’t you turn around when you saw how I was dressed?” I hissed at him through the door.

          “I think I was still too stunned that you had answered the door dressed like that. I’m glad Nick or Aaron weren’t around to see you.”

          “You’re supposed to be a gentleman and turn around when you see a woman dressed like that,” I yelled at him through the door as I quickly took a pair of basketball shorts and bra out of my suitcase.

          “I figured that since I had already seen you, it was too late to look away and pretend I hadn’t seen anything,” he answered nonchalantly. I could just tell he had shrugged those broad shoulders of his.

          I cursed at him under my breath as I managed to put the bra on underneath my tank and then step into my shorts. Finally, I went back to the door and swung it open once more. Only this time I was dressed.

          Zak turned around and smiled. “Didn’t change shirts I see.”

          I rolled my eyes. “I just put on a bra and shorts to make myself more decent for your virgin eyes.”

          Zak burst out laughing. “I’m actually going to miss that smart mouth of yours I think,” he smiled sadly shaking his head.

          My eyes widened at the realization of what he just said. He was leaving. Of course he was. He had only come here to investigate the MacMiller house and then leave to continue filming other locations to finish off the season. I had only been able to fight with him, be near to him, figure out what kind of person he was…for only two days. Not to mention I had nearly kissed him. My body grew uncomfortably hot at the memory. My gaze slid over to admire those lips that had just barely brushed along mine before Luke had interrupted.

          “That’s right, you’re leaving today,” I murmured hoping he couldn’t pick up the sadness that was laced within my voice.

          “Yeah,” he sighed. “So, I just thought I would come and wake you up so you could say goodbye to the guys before we hit the road.”

          “Where are you going next?” I asked curiously. Maybe if he wasn’t going too far, we could still meet up and hang out.

          “Next stop is Maine,” he answered rubbing the back of his neck almost like he was apologizing for it being so far away from Sunfire Falls.

          “Oh,” I said with more disappointment than I had meant to voice. His eyes met mine and I noticed how up close in the light Zak’s eyes had light brown flecks throughout his iris. He really did have some pretty eyes.

          “Well, I guess I should go say goodbye to the guys so that don’t whine about not having been able to see me before they left,” I chuckled without feeling.

          “Ha, yeah. I’d hate to hear them whine for the next 22 hours while we are on the road,” Zak sighed with a roll of his eyes.

          I nodded my head in agreement and headed outside to where the van was parked Nick and Aaron were standing by the back talking amongst themselves. They stopped talking when they saw me approach. I walked up to Aaron first and was immediately pulled to him in a bone crushing hug. I gently patted his back.

          “I’ll miss you, too, Aaron,” I answered with difficulty seeing as how my lungs were being crushed.

          He released me suddenly making me stumble back into Nick. I turned around and punched him lightly on his shoulder.

          “You be good,” I scolded him. I lowered my voice, “And make sure Princess doesn’t get into too much trouble, okay?”

          Nick smiled and pulled me into a hug. “We’re gonna miss having you around to keep Zak in line,” he chuckled.

          I stepped out of his hug and smiled up at him.

          “You’ll do just fine. You’ve kept him in line thus far,” I winked.

          “Alright, guys, time to hit the road!” Zak announced from behind me.

          “See you, Aero!” Aaron waved.

          “Bye!” Nick called out one last time before getting in the van with Aaron.

          I took a deep breath and turned around to face Zak.

          “Well, this is goodbye then, I guess.”

          Zak nodded never meeting my gaze. “You sure you don’t need a ride?”

          I shook my head. “Luke will come and get me,” I reassured him. I saw a muscle tic in his jaw at the mention of Luke’s name.

          He gave me a curt nod. “Okay. Well, I best be going then.”

          Our gazes met then. His eyes burned with a deep, hidden desire that we both knew couldn’t be unleashed. Even so, I once again found the world slowly fading out around me except for him. All I could see were those beautiful bluish-hazel eyes, his perfectly crafted face, and his dark styled hair. Not to mention his torso that widened at the shoulders and narrowed near his hips. Those toned muscles that rippled under the surface of his skin making nearly every girl swoon from the beauty of it all.

          For once, I was the one that broke the eye contact. Being beside him during these past two days was bad enough because I wanted what I clearly couldn’t have. So, having to watch him leave after witnessing the desire in his eyes just now, made it even harder to let him go.

          Zak took a step towards me and slowly raised his hand towards my face. I waited in anticipation for his warm, slightly calloused fingers to brush along my cheek. But it never happened. His hand stopped halfway to my face, clenched tightly into a fist, and returned back to his side. I couldn’t stop the hurt that struck my heart like a twisted blade.

          I heard the crunch of his shoes on the gravel as he walked away from where we were standing. I looked up just in time to see him slide into the driver’s seat and slam the door closed. I took a few steps back as he put the van in reverse and drove out of the parking lot.

          A single tear slid down my cheek before dropping off my chin.

          Not once had he looked back.


	19. Chapter 19

 

**Four months later**

 

          I glanced up from wiping down the counter as the bell signaled we had another customer.

“Hello!” I greeted with a smile. “I’ll be with you in one moment.”

It was mid-September now and with the cold came the tourists since the lake usually froze over and was turned into the area where our Frost Festival was held. A bit dangerous if you ask me, but it did get extremely cold in the Fall and Winter here (just like it got extremely hot in the Spring and Summer). With the extreme cold came lots of snow and ice that helped to freeze the lake over. We’ve never had it crack even in the slightest before no matter how many booths and rides were set upon it.

          Of course I was talking about the public lake and not the one hidden deep in the woods beside the MacMiller house. The public lake was just outside of town on your way driving into Sunfire Falls. Even so we would get some of the tourists that would drive ahead into town to buy a room at the motel or check out all our little shops.

          Shortly after Zak and the crew had left, I signed on for a job working at Luke’s pizza shop after one girl had quit because she was going off to college in a different state. How she had afforded it was beyond me. This town wasn’t exactly known for its riches.

          I picked up my pad of paper and took my pencil out of my pocket. Thinking about the fact that I hadn’t seen or been in contact with Zak these past four months really bummed me out, but I expected it from the moment I won the chance to go on lockdown with them. It still hurt though.

          I shook my head clear of any sad thoughts and forced a smile onto my face. I couldn’t entertain those thoughts right now when we were so busy.

          I walked up to the table. “Hi, my name is Aerolynn. What would you folks like to drink today?” I asked with the mundane greeting we were supposed to say to all the customers.

          “Just water with a lemon for me, please,” the wife ordered before glancing at her husband.

          “Coke for me,” he answered.

          I nodded and wrote it down on my notepad.

          “Alright, I’ll be right back with your drinks,” I smiled before turning away.

          As soon as my back was to them, my smile died. Once more I turned around at the sound of the bell. My heart fell when I saw it was only more tourists.

          I don’t know why I kept expecting him to show.

          He was never going to come back.

****************************************************************************************  
          “Hey, Aero, sorry I’m late!” Luke called out as he jogged over to me.

          “It’s no problem. I just got here myself,” I chuckled wrapping my arm around his.

          “Alright cool. So where do you want to start first?” He asked, his baby blue eyes sparkling with happiness.

          “Where we always start, silly. At the sno-cone booth!” I grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind me on the ice.

          Every year whenever the Frost Festival came around, Luke and I attended every day and visited a different booth each day and rode a different ride. Since the festival was only for three days and was packed with rides and vendors, it was very easy for us to not visit the same place twice.

          “Where do you want to go after we get sno-cones?” I asked him as we approached the booth where, fortunately, not very many people were waiting in line.

          “The swings,” he smiled mischievously.

          “You and those swings,” I laughed. He wanted to ride them every year. He was such a child.

          “I could say the same for you and these sno-cones,” he retorted.

          “Touché,” I winked at him.

****************************************************************************************  
          Luke walked me home as the sun began to set below the horizon. We had had quite an interesting day at the festival to say the least, but then again when I was with Luke things were ALWAYS interesting.

          We walked arm in arm eating on an ice cream we had each bought before leaving the festival. It was strange how loud and crowded it was on the lake, but as soon as you got into town things became eerily quiet.

          We approached my apartment building and came to a stop outside the door. I finished up my ice cream and swirled my tongue around my lips to make sure I didn’t have any ice cream on my face.

          Luke laughed. “You still have a little bit near your mouth,” he informed me.

          “I do? Where?”

          “Right…here,” he whispered leaning down to flick his tongue out and lick the side of my mouth.

          My eyes widened in shock as I met his gaze. His once light blue eyes had now deepened into something darker and more sensual. As he inched his face closer, I felt the world around me come to a stop. My heart pounded hard against my chest slower and slower each time like it was about to give out. Everything just seemed to slow down. Even my breathing was coming out slow and raggedly. What was happening right now?

          Luke’s eyelids fluttered closed as he hesitantly pressed his warm lips against mine. The ice cream he had been eating dropped from his hand onto the ground as he placed one hand on the small of my back and the other behind my neck. I was too stunned to even think about closing my eyes as Luke pressed our bodies closer together. It’s not like I hadn’t kissed Luke plenty of times before, but this time it felt different. Even when we had been going out and went to our secret lake to make out, it didn’t feel like this. It had always felt mechanical like we were supposed to do something like that since we were dating. But this felt…strange. The more he pushed to get me to kiss him back, the emptier I became. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him and kiss him back the way he wanted me to. I just couldn’t. I felt like I was betraying Zak in some weird way.

          Coming out of whatever funk I had been in, I gently pushed Luke away. He must have been expecting it because he put up no resistance.

          “Luke—”

          “I love you, Aerolynn!” He blurted interrupting what I had been about to say. “I have since we first became friends back when we were kids and it only grew stronger as we grew older. Then when we finally dated in high school after much pressuring from our friends, I was ecstatic because I thought then maybe we’d find out that what we have goes beyond a normal friendship. Unfortunately, you didn’t feel that way and broke it off a few months later. So I started dating Jenine in the hopes it might get you jealous, but when it wasn’t really working the way I wanted it to I broke it off with her.

          “Then when I heard rumors throughout town that you were going to be on lockdown with Zak and the crew, it got me angry because I knew how much you liked him ever since you saw him on television. I was afraid he would realize how amazing you were and take you away from me. So when I was watching through the window that night at the motel, I saw you guys approach the door and him leaning closer to you. I didn’t want you to fall for him nor him fall for you so that’s why I interrupted you guys. But you have no idea how relieved I was when you called me to come pick you up at the motel because Zak had left and you didn’t feel like being alone at the time. I thought it would be my chance to comfort you and maybe have you see that we’re meant for each other,” he quickly explained hardly taking a breath at all during the time he was talking.

          I blinked, completely shocked by what I had just heard. I knew our friendship was different from others, but I never knew that by having that kind of relationship it would cause us to come to a misunderstanding with _each other_. Slowly, as seconds passed, more and more sank in. So he _had_ interrupted Zak and me on purpose.

          “Why? Why would you interrupt us when you knew how much I liked him?” I asked quietly. I felt like I had been betrayed.

          “Because I didn’t want him to take you away from me,” he lamely explained.

          “I TRUSTED YOU!” I screamed at him as tears fell from my eyes. “I trusted you…” I repeated more quietly. The hurt and betrayal was evident in my voice.

          “Aero, I’m sorry, I just love you so much,” Luke stressed. Tears were forming in his eyes as well.

          “Just go,” I whispered turning away from him. I wasn’t mad at Luke for what he did. I understand why he did what he had, but if he hadn’t have interrupted then maybe Zak and I would at least still be talking right now. Maybe not dating, but at least talking.

          “Aero…” Luke pleaded gently touching my shoulder.

          “LEAVE!” I yelled angrily flinging his hand off my shoulder. Without looking to see if he left, I ran up the stairs to my apartment and flung myself inside after unlocking the door.

          I fell back against the door and slid down to the ground bringing my knees up to my chest.

          I sat like that for over three hours just crying my aching heart out over everything I had kept bottled inside until now: the hurt, the ever growing emptiness, and most importantly the loss of a love that would now never be.


	20. Chapter 20

 

 

********Zak’s P.O.V********

 

          It had been four months. Four ridiculously long months since I had seen her. Since I had seen her dazzling smile, her large brown eyes, and that twinkle she got in her eye when she called me Princess. There had been a few times during the past four months when we had stopped at a place near Sunfire Falls, but I had been too afraid to go and visit her. I was afraid she may have moved on to someone else. Someone that deserved her. Someone like Luke.

          _Luke…_ I growled to myself crushing the soda can that was in my hand.

          “Dude.” I vaguely heard someone say to the right of me.

          “Zak. Zak? Zaaaaak.” Why did they keep calling my name? Didn’t they see I was busy trying to sulk?

          “ZAK!”

          “WHAT! For fuck’s sake, _what?!_ ” I growled turning to face Nick’s bemused face.

          “Finally, he acknowledges us,” Nick replied flatly.

          I rolled my eyes. “What do you want? I’m trying to sul…erm…review the tapes here!” I snapped quickly covering up what I had been about to say. No need for the guys to know I was being a pussy and sulking over some girl I had known for two days. No matter how sarcastic and fantastic she had been.

          Nick gave me a droll stare completely seeing through my lie. “Yeah. Sure. That’s why you completely missed seeing a shadow walk through a door just a few seconds ago. Along with the voice that answered ‘no’ when you asked it if it wanted us to leave,” Nick replied.

          “I’m sorry,” I sighed in frustration dragging my hands back through my dark hair. “This whole damnation thing has been on my mind on and off constantly over the past four months.”

          Nick looked completely unconvinced, but humored me anyways. “So do something about it,” he shrugged glancing back at his monitor where he was going over all of our EVPs. Aaron was stretched out on the bed fast asleep.

          “I’ve tried. Nothing seems to work. I’ve tried helping people, spirits, and even forgiving some people I really dislike. Hell, I’ve even toned down on the whole provoking spirits thing! But I still feel this restless stirring inside me.”

          “Does it kind of feel like an ache that won’t go away? An ever growing emptiness?” Nick inquired his eyes never leaving the computer monitor.

          “Exactly like that,” I agreed.

          Nick simply nodded as if he was thinking hard about something.

          “What?” I asked suspiciously as his eyes widened like he had gotten a great idea.

          “Did you ever, at any time since the woman told you that, feel like the darkness was receding? That the growing emptiness you felt inside seemed to fill up even the teeniest bit?” He inquired.

          I thought about what he asked for a while and slowly nodded my head. “Once or twice maybe. Why?”

          “When?”

          “Why is this important?”

          “It just is,” Nick urged in frustration.

          Just then my phone went off. Nick looked like he was seriously considering taking my phone and tossing it out the window.

          I glanced at the caller ID and noticed it was a number I didn’t recognize. I scowled wondering how people kept getting my number.

          “Hello?” I answered curtly.

          “Is this Zak Bagans?” A voice asked.

          I rolled my eyes. Another fan.

          “Who is this? How did you get my number?”

          My eyes widened as the fan began speaking. After a few moments of them jabbering on, I hung up the phone.

          “Another fan?” Nick asked bored.

          “You could say that.”

          “Anyways, back to what we were discussing…” Nick began. I cut him off with my hand.

          “Not tonight, Nick. I’m tired. I just don’t want to think about it all anymore. She said I was going to live a long life so there is nothing to worry about.”

          “Yeah, but she warned me to tell you after you left that you were going to come face to face with your greatest fear,” Nick reminded me urgently.

          “I know, I know. You told me, but right now I am just too tired to care so I’m going to bed,” I yawned.

          Nick frowned in disapproval, but said nothing more about it. I stripped down into my boxers before sliding into the small twin sized bed. Nick would have to sleep on the couch for tonight.

          “Another thing,” I said to Nick before completely falling asleep.

          “Yeah?”

          “We need to leave early tomorrow morning so don’t stay up too late,” I warned.

          “Where are we going?”

          “Another location,” I yawned feeling the waves of hate coming off Nick.

          “Fine,” he huffed turning off the computer and packing it away.

          Shortly after the warm hands of sleep dragged me down into the dark abyss.

****************************************************************************************  
 _I was walking down a dark hallway. I don’t know where this dark hallway led to nor did I know where I was. It was too dark to really see anything clearly. The further I walked though, the more of a struggle it was to walk. Almost like I was trying to walk through a thick, drying pool of mud. I dragged my feet down the hallway in the hopes I would reach its end. Just as it felt like I could no longer move my feet, I saw a small ray of light up ahead._

_I fell to my knees as a sudden sharp pain spread through my chest. I gasped for air as the pain seemed to claw its way deeper into my body like it was going for my soul. I fell to the ground writhing in pain vaguely wondering if this was what it felt like for a soul that was trapped within the darkness. Was this the pain that Mary had mentioned was consuming her?_

_From the corner of my eye I could see the light getting brighter as it neared. How was it growing closer to me if I wasn’t even moving? The light reached out to me almost like it was waiting for me to let go of the pain and take its hand. I reached out a shaking hand toward the light and felt the pain grow worse the closer I became to the light. It was like it would do anything to keep me from touching it. Once my hand finally grasped onto the light, I screamed out in agony as a raging hot fire consumed my body. I clenched my teeth together as I felt the fire move into the center of my being before bursting forth from my chest._

_The light disappeared only to be replaced by a human hand. And as the light disappeared, so did the unbearable pain that had been wrapping itself around my soul. I glanced up through hazy eyes at the person holding my hand trying in vain to lift me off the ground. It was then that I could make out the person’s features. They had long brown hair that fell in soft curls down to their collarbone and pale, soft hands. Those honey brown eyes lifted to meet my gaze. Those pink plump lips curled into a tiny smile._

_“Come on, Zak. Let’s go home,” she said, her eyes softening as she looked down at me._

_I stood up with ease never letting go of her hand. Whatever had been slowing me down, whatever had had its grips on me…it was gone. When she had grabbed my hand, everything had disappeared. I felt light and new again. She stepped towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck._

_“Can you really save me?” I asked with slight hesitance. I knew this was a dream just by the fact she was here and in my arms smiling up at me like nothing had changed in the past four months we were apart._

_“Of course I can. Doesn’t the princess always get pulled out of the darkness by the knight in shining armor?” She chuckled, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief._

_“I suppose you’re right,” I chuckled smiling down upon her gorgeous face. “Why did I let you slip out of my grasp when I had you within reach?”_

_She shrugged. “Maybe you would rather live alone in pain than admit that there is somebody you love who can save you from yourself.”_

_“But I—”_

_She placed her fingers against my lips. “Ssshhh, Zak. It’s ok. I forgive…for everything. Just let go before it’s too late and I don’t have the power to save you anymore. We’re running out of time,” she quietly urged._

_“What do you mean?” I questioned in confusion. How were we running out of time?_

_I caught her in my arms as she fell backwards away from me. Her arms unwound from around my neck to hang loosely by her sides. Those large brown eyes that had once shone with life were now glazed over by death. That’s when I felt it. The warmth spreading throughout her back. I lifted my hand up to my face and cried out in horror when I saw them washed with red._

_“Aerolynn! Aerolynn, don’t leave me! Aerolynn, please don’t leave me,” I sobbed as I feel to my knees holding her lifeless body close. Tears fell down my face to drip onto hers. I bent down and placed a gentle kiss upon her still warm lips._

_“Aerolynn…”_

          “Aerolynn!” I shouted sitting straight up in bed. I glanced over to see Aaron and Nick sitting up from their respective sleeping places to watch me with concerned looks on their faces.

          “Are you ok, bro?” Aaron asked worried.

          I jumped off the bed and began searching for a pair of jeans.

          “We need to go. Now,” I commanded as I pulled on my pants not fully buttoning them before I started searching for my shirt.

          “It’s the middle of the night. Where are—” Aaron started asking.

          “NOW!” I yelled at them.

          They scrambled to stand up and find their clothes. I grabbed up my suitcase and some of the equipment before heading out to the van not even bothering to wait on them.

          There was no time. I had to go see her.

          NOW.


	21. Chapter 21

 

 

          The next day I came into work as per usual. I wasn’t going to let a little fight between my friend and I keep me from doing my job. The more I had thought about it last night, the more I came to realize that I should have taken notice of the way he felt before, but maybe I just didn’t want to see it because he was my best friend. Plus we had always had quite the outrageous friendship.

          I entered into the back where Luke was covered in flour and rolling out some dough. I smiled and walked over to him smacking him on the arm. He glanced up at me like he had just noticed I had walked in.

          For a long time we just stared at each other as an awkward silence began to grow between us. If we were able to date, break up, and go back to the way things were, then surely we could do it this time, too. Even if it took some time, surely we could fix this.

          So I smiled at him to let him know everything was ok and things were still going to be the same between us. With that smile, Luke’s eyes welled up with tears. He pulled me into a tight hug and thanked me over and over again in my ear. I gently pushed away from him and went about my normal routine of tying on my apron, sticking my notepad and pencil in my pocket, and raking my long hair back into a high ponytail.

          I heard the bell ring throughout the restaurant announcing another customer. So I slapped a smile on my face and approached the customer’s table. As I approached I noticed he seemed to be slightly anxious about something. Almost like he was waiting on somebody and they were running extremely late.

          “Hi, my name is Aerolynn. What can I get you to drink?” I asked politely. His dark green eyes met mine for a brief second before quickly darting away.

          “Coffee is fine,” he mumbled.

          “Would you like me to bring you some cre—”

          “NO! Just make it black!” He shouted turning those crazed green eyes on me. Realizing that a few of the customers had turned their eyes on us, he quickly glanced away. His leg was bouncing up and down the entire time.

          Trying not to take offense and snap back at him like I really wanted to fucking do, I merely pursed my lips and pivoted on my heel to go get him his BLACK coffee.

          “He should be lucky I’m not the type of waitress to spit all up in his coffee,” I growled to myself.

          “That doesn’t sound very nice,” a deep voice replied with a light chuckle. My heart stopped. I hadn’t heard that voice for a while now. Even after all this time apart, it sounded exactly the same. Not a single thing had changed about that all too familiar voice.

          I slowly turned around so I could see the face that I knew matched the voice. My eyes widened and a large grin split my face.

          “Mason?!” I squealed in excitement. I ran towards Mason and flung myself into his arms. It had been over five years since I had seen him. And he looked exactly the same as when I last saw him.

          “I missed you, too,” he chuckled wrapping his arms even tighter around my waist. “Have you lost weight? I told you to stop dieting. It’s unhealthy,” he sighed irritated. I laughed and pulled away, but I made sure I was still wrapped in his arms.

          “I haven’t dieted since the tenth grade,” I told him. There was no wiping this smile off my face. Nothing could make it disappear.

          Mason narrowed those caramel brown eyes at me giving me the once over. “If you say so.”

          “I DO say so,” I retorted.

          He gently pushed me out of his arms and towards the counter.

          “You better go get that man his coffee before he has a heart attack,” he whispered with a smile. I nodded and eagerly went about making the man his coffee. After dropping it off (and doing my best not to toss it in his face after he snapped at me that he didn’t want any food when I asked him), I made my way over to Mason. Fortunately, we weren’t very busy and the last of our customers had left. Well, besides that guy.

          “So, tell me, how’s life in the military?” I asked him propping my elbows up on the table and watching him. I still couldn’t believe he was here in front of me right now. He wasn’t supposed to be back until Christmas!

          “Ridiculous,” he sighed leaning back in his chair. It was at that moment I noticed he wasn’t in uniform like he normally is when he comes home.

          “Did you change out of your uniform?” I asked.

          Mason glanced down at his casual attire of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

          “Yeah, I stopped by the house and changed. That uniform was ridiculously hot,” he complained.

          “It’s freezing outside though!” I replied with slight worry when I saw how thin his top appeared.

          “Trust me. I’d rather be freezing than sweating my balls off. So how’s my little sister?”

          I rolled my eyes. “Oh, you know. I’m doing.”

          “Heard you got to meet Zak Bagans. I bet that made your day didn’t it?” My brother’s eyes turned all wide like an anime character’s as he bat his lashes at me. “Was he everything you hoped and dreamed for?” he giggled shrilly speaking like (what he thought was a good impression of) a girl.

          My eyes narrowed. “Never do that again. Ever. That was weird and creepy. Even for you.”

          He laughed. “But seriously did you have fun?” The mention of Zak brought up a lot of painful memories, but enough good memories for me to dredge a smile up onto my face.

          “Yeah, I had fun. We didn’t get a lot of evidence at the house though.”

          “Really? Weird, I figured you would have gotten a shit ton of activity,” he shrugged uncaring. He rubbed his hand over his dark brown hair that had been buzzed off by the military.

          “Well, I should probably get back to the apartment. I haven’t slept well these past few days and I am beat!” he yawned.

          “Ok,” I said nodding my understanding. We got up and wrapped each other in another tight sibling embrace.

          Just then the bell signaled another customer. I glanced behind my brother, my eyes widening in shock. Remember how I mentioned nothing could wipe the smile off my face? Yeah? Ok, well, I take that back because I lied. Because THIS wiped any hopes of a smile off my face.

          “Zak?” I breathed not entirely convinced my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. Aaron and Nick came rushing in behind him out of breath like they had run all the way here from wherever they had been.

          Zak’s bluish-hazel eyes locked on with mine. He clenched his jaw and took long strides as he came over to where my brother, Mason, and I were standing. Mason, seeing the look of determination in his eyes, stepped aside out of Zak’s way.

          Zak steadily approached me his gaze never leaving mine.

          I bunched my brows in confusion. “What are you—?”

          I was never able to finish my sentence as Zak took my face in his hands and crushed his lips against mine in a searing hot kiss. Our mouths molded together like the finest chocolate as he wrapped one around the back of my neck. He tilted my head back and deepened the kiss; his tongue sweeping along my bottom lip before demanding entrance inside my mouth. Our tongues dueled in a passionate fight for dominance. It was an intricate dance filled with bottled emotions, yearning, desire, and madness. His other hand dropped from my face to snake around my waist and press me tighter against him. My hands trailed up his arms feeling every groove of the tight muscles flexing as I wound my arms around his neck. I brought myself up onto my tiptoes and deepened the kiss still. I could feel the heat from his body leaking into mine making me grow hot and not just from the kiss. I could feel every inch of his body move against mine. I had completely forgotten about my brother, Luke, the customer, and Nick and Aaron. Nothing mattered except this moment with Zak. Right here. Right now.

          We pulled away with a soft gasp as we finally broke away for air. I could tell that my cheeks were flushed from the heat and passion. When I looked up at him through hooded, glazed eyes, I could see a smile of satisfaction on Zak’s face. His cheeks, too, were flushed and his lips swollen and plump from the complete make out session we had just had in front of the entire store.

          He rested his forehead against mine.

          “I’ve wanted to do that ever since that time in your room,” he chuckled.

          Those words cleared the fog out of my head and I stepped back out of his arms. They fell lamely back to his side.

          “Who do you think you are?” I quietly asked as the rage built up inside me. “To come in here and just walk over to me and _kiss_ me like you have every right to?”

          “Um…what?” he asked in shock and disbelief.

          “What? You think that just because we had a few heated moments back during the lockdown that you can just come back _four months later_ without a single _call_ , a text, or _anything_ …you think you can just walk in here and act like _nothing_ has happened in the four months you were gone?” I snapped.

          “Well, I mean…” he lamely started.

          “Let me tell you what. If you think we can just start where we left off four months ago…?” I growled. I took a step toward him and tilted my head back to stare up at him.

          I twisted my hand into the fabric of his shirt up near his neck and pulled his face down to mine crushing our lips together in another passionate hot kiss. I pulled his face away as a mischievous smile crossed my face.

          “Then you are absolutely right,” I whispered. Zak let out a sigh of relief along with a nervous chuckle.

          “You had me scared for a minute,” he smiled straightening up.

          I punched him in the arm. “You still could have called or something,” I pouted. Zak brushed his thumb along my jawline.

          “Sorry. I guess I just wanted to make a grand entrance,” he admitted.

          “Well, you certainly accomplished that,” I huffed folding my arms.

          Zak glanced over at Luke standing behind me at the counter.

          “Thanks for the call last night,” he said with a tilt of his head.

          My eyes widened in shock as I whipped around to face Luke.

          “You called him and told him to come here? But how did you get his number?”

          Luke shrugged nonchalantly. “I have my ways. I saw how much you missed Zak and after that little episode last night…I figured that if I couldn’t make you happy myself, then I would bring in somebody who could make you happy. I missed seeing your smile these past four months. Your _real_ smile. Not the fake ones that you put on for the customers. I just wanted to bring the Aerolynn I knew and loved back is all.”

          Tears welled up in my eyes as I ran around the counter and hugged Luke tightly around the waist.

          “Thank you,” I whispered as tears fell down my face. For once, they were from pure happiness. Nothing could ruin today.

          “Nobody move! Put your hands behind your head and get down on the ground. GET DOWN!” I heard a man shout.

          I glanced over and saw it was the anxious man that I had waited on. He was waving around a gun pointing it at us as he waited for us to do as he instructed. Zak and I locked eyes.

          Forget what I said about nothing being able to ruin today.

          I lied.

          Again.


	22. Chapter 22

 

 

          “I said put your hands behind you head and get the fuck down!” the man screamed pointing the barrel of the gun at each of us in turn.

          Nick and Aaron dropped to the floor. Zak, Mason, Luke, and I exchanged looks. We were all thinking the same thing. Surely this guy couldn’t do too much harm considering the hand that was holding the gun was shaking so bad he couldn’t even point it straight. We needed a distraction so Zak or Mason could tackle him to the ground while the other snatched the gun from his hand.

          I took a step forward with my hands raised as high as my chest in surrender. I slowly walked around the counter. He aimed his gun at me unsteadily.

          “Look, sir, no one wants to get hurt and you certainly don’t want to kill anyone,” I quietly said as I inched closer to him. “So how about you put the gun down and we can talk about whatever trouble it is you’re in, okay?”

          “No! NO! I don’t need your help! Just give me the money out of the cash register and safe and I’ll leave. As long as you cooperate, no one will have to get hurt,” he yelled, his voice cracking at the end. It sounded like he was about to cry.

          “Aerolynn, let’s just give him the money. It’s ok,” Luke reassured opening the cash drawer.

          “No!” I shouted at him without ever looking back. My gaze was planted firmly on that gun.

          “Listen, you don’t have to do this,” I told the man giving him a friendly smile. “We can work this out another way without having to resort to using a gun and holding hostages.”

          “J-just shut up, l-lady!” he stammered.

          “Come on, Aerolynn. Just back off. It’s not worth it,” Aaron mumbled from the floor.

          “Aaron’s right, Aero,” Mason called out. “Get your ass back over here.”

          “Shut up, Mason, I can do this!” I yelled startling the guy.

          “Aero, I already have the money from the drawer. Sir, if you want to follow me to the back and I’ll get you the money from the safe,” Luke calmly told the man.

          “Luke, no!” I growled spinning around for a moment I forgot what was going on around us.

          I started walking toward Luke so I could grab the keys to the safe from his hand. Why did nobody believe I could do this?

          “Stop!” The man shouted from behind me. “I said stop!”

          “AEROLYNN!” Zak shouted right before I heard a strange ringing in my ears.

          I stumbled forward finding it odd that I couldn’t move. Luke’s eyes had widened and even though I saw his mouth open saying something, I couldn’t hear a single word that came out of his mouth. All I could hear was the loud ringing sound in my ears as warmth spread throughout me.

          I stumbled backwards about to fall when a muscled pair of arms caught me around my chest. I glanced up and saw Zak’s worried face as he fell to his knees on the floor. He brushed the stray tendrils of hair away from my face and kissed my forehead. He yelled something over his shoulder although I couldn’t really make out what he said. It looked like he said ambulance.

          My brother knelt down beside me then with a gun in his hand. Oh good. He must have reasoned with that guy enough to take the gun away. Good. That was good. I saw a tear fall down my brother’s face as he placed a towel on my abdomen. I looked down and was surprised to find the front of my white work shirt stained with red. How did that red stain get there?

          “Aero,” A very distant voice called out to me. “Aero!”

          My gaze slowly lifted to see a pair of glistening bluish-hazel eyes staring down at me filled with worry and fear.

          “Aerolynn, stay with us,” I heard him say.

          Silly, Zak, why did he think I was going somewhere? I was just tired is all. That’s why my eyes felt so heavy all of a sudden right? I was just tired.

          Just….tired….

****************************************************************************************  
 **~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~**

 

          “Aerolynn, stay with us. Aerolynn!” I growled shaking her lightly to make her keep her eyes open. I needed to see those bright brown eyes still shining with life so I knew she was ok.

          She was so stupid. Why did she turn her back on a gun? A GUN! And not a gun being held by someone calm and skilled. No she turns her fucking back on an emotionally unstable man holding a gun. What in the hell is wrong with her? Why couldn’t she have just let Luke handle the situation and lead the man into the back to jump him there and grab the gun from him? Why was she so stubborn and hotheaded? God, I wanted to kill her myself.

          “Aaron, did you call 911?” I snapped at him. My eyes never left Aerolynn’s rapidly growing pale face.

          “Yeah, they’ll be here in ten,” he answered quietly.

          I nodded silently wishing they would get here faster. I glanced over at Mason who was pressing a towel against her wound. The bullet had torn clean through coming in from her back and exiting through her stomach. Hopefully since it was a clean wound, it could be stitched up rather quickly, but she was losing a lot of blood.

          “She still losing a lot?” I asked already knowing the answer. The towel had started out dry and white, now it was dripping red with blood.

          Mason nodded. “She’s losing a lot really fast, bro. I’m not sure she can wait ten minutes, Zak,” he warned softly.

          I shook her gently once more when I saw her eyes were fully closed.

          “Aerolynn! Open those damn large brown eyes of yours! Do you hear me? Open them!” I shouted shaking her more furiously.

          “Don’t Zak,” Mason commanded quietly.

          “Zak…I’m so…tired…” she weakly responded.

          “Listen to the sound of my voice and stay with me,” I softly told her trying to hold back the tears.

          “Sing a song,” she quietly requested.

          Sing a song? I couldn’t sing to save myOWN life, but if it saved her? Then so be it. I quickly went through a list of songs I knew in my head before finding the perfect one to sing to her while we waited on the ambulance. I began singing:

 

_Search for the answers I knew all along_

_I lost myself, we all fall down_

_Never the wiser of what I've become_

_Alone I stand, a broken man_

_All I have is one last chance_

_I won't turn my back on you_

_Take my hand, drag me down_

_If you fall then I will too_

_And I can't save what's left of you_

          I glanced down at her. Seeing that small smile on her face gave me hope to continue. So I went into the chorus:

 

_Sing something new_

_I have nothing left_

_I can't face the dark without you_

_There's nothing left to lose_

_The fight never ends_

_I can't face the dark without you_

          Tears ran down my face as I felt her body slowly grow colder in my arms. I pulled her close to me and buried my face in the crook of her neck.

          “Don’t you dare leave me! Don’t you dare leave after I came back for your smartass,” I cried into her neck.

          “I need you,” I whispered. “Please…don’t leave me just yet…not when I’ve just found the light that I was searching for…”

          “Zak,” Mason touched my arm gently. “The ambulance is here. Come on.”

          I refused to let go of her. I couldn’t. What if her soul escaped once I let go? I couldn’t risk it.

          “Sir, I’m sorry but we’ll need you to remove yourself from her so we can take her to the E.R. so we can try and save her, okay?” One of the EMTs soothed.

          I couldn’t let go, though. I just couldn’t.

          They pried her away from my hands and placed her on the gurney before taking her back to the hospital a few miles from here.

          I fell to my hands and knees on the floor after I watched the ambulance disappear down the road. Is this what the woman had been talking about when she told Nick that soon I would be facing my greatest fear? And that I would never be saved if I let her go once I had found her? Is this why she had been shot? Because I let her go four months ago and if she died…then she could never save me? Is this the fear she had been speaking of? Until now I had never fully realized my fear, but now it haunted me.

          My greatest fear…was losing the one I loved most.


End file.
